ROYAL NEWS
Queen Letizia and King Felipe’s coronavirus test results revealed
The Spanish Queen will continue to have her temperature checked periodically
Queen Letizia and King Felipe of Spain’s coronavirus results have been revealed. The royal couple has tested negative for COVID-19. The Spanish Royal House released a statement on Friday that read: “The results of the tests of the COVID-19 carried out yesterday to Their Majesties the Kings have given negative. Following the recommendations of the health authorities, Her Majesty the Queen will remain without activities and will carry out the periodic temperature taking controls required in these situations.”
Felipe and Letizia underwent testing on Thursday as a precaution following news that Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia’s mother recently came in contact with a government official who tested positive for the coronavirus. “Based on the recent public activities of HM the Queen and the information transmitted by the Government, as a preventive measure indicated by the health authorities,” the palace said on March 12.
Less than a week after attending a meeting in Madrid with Letizia, Irene Montero, the Minister of Equality of Spain, revealed that she tested positive for COVID-19. Her partner, Pablo Iglesias Turrión, whom the Queen was out with one-week prior, was also tested and is being quarantined at home with Irene.
While Letizia and Felipe are not infected with the disease, there is one European royal who tested positive for the coronavirus, Karl von Habsburg, the Archduke of Austria. The head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine confirmed the news in a phone call on the Austrian TV channel oe24 saying, "It's annoying, but I'm fine. It's not the black plague.” He added, "I thought it was the usual flu. When a friend called me that he had a positive test at a congress in Switzerland, I was also tested."
The coronavirus outbreak has affected numerous royal events, including the postponement of the Monaco royal family’s annual Rose Ball and Queen Mathilde of Belgium’s state visit to Italy. Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark have also pulled their four children out of school in Switzerland due to the pandemic. COVID-19 has infected more than 100,000 individuals around the world. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the coronavirus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person.
