The Prince of Wales has tested positive for Covid-19 and is now self-isolating, Clarence House has said on Twitter.
Prince Charles’s positive result was announced moments before he was due to arrive at an engagement in Winchester.
On Wednesday, he and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall met people at a reception in the British Museum.
Camilla tested negative for coronavirus on Thursday, Clarence House said. This is the second time Charles has contracted Covid.
The 73-year-old heir to the throne last caught the virus in March 2020 when he reported only mild symptoms.
Clarence House confirmed that Prince Charles was triple vaccinated, but would not give any detail on whether he was experiencing coronavirus symptoms this time.
It is also yet to confirm whether Charles has seen the Queen recently. But it said Camilla had received a negative result in a routine test earlier.
The evening before he tested positive, Charles and Camilla were at a reception in the British Museum to celebrate the work of the British Asian Trust (BAT).
Guests included Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Home Secretary Priti Patel and former Liverpool footballer Ian Rush.
In England, contacts of positive Covid cases who are fully vaccinated should take lateral flow tests for seven days. They do not have to self-isolate unless they test positive.
Charles had been due to unveil a statue of Licoricia of Winchester, a medieval Jewish businesswoman who was a money lender and single parent in Hampshire city.
Clarence House said His Royal Highness was “deeply disappointed not to be able to attend… and will look to reschedule his visit as soon as possible”.
The announcement of Charles’s positive test was made just after midday, around 12 minutes before he was due to arrive.
More than 1,000 people were gathered behind barriers in the city’s Jewry Street, waiting to see the prince.
The Queen’s representative in Hampshire, the Lord Lieutenant Nigel Atkinson read out a message from the prince to the disappointed crowd.
Charles’s message said: “Ladies and gentlemen, I am so sorry that I cannot be with you today. I am desperately disappointed as I was so looking forward to marking this historic occasion with you.
“I hope very much that I will be able to visit at a future time but for today please accept my most heartfelt apologies and my very best wishes as you mark this memorable occasion for Winchester.”
Meanwhile, Camilla has carried on with her planned engagements, earlier visiting Paddington Haven, a sexual assault referral centre in West London.
Here she met former Love Island star Zara McDermott and discussed her experience of revenge porn and assault.
(BBC)
