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The queen today made her first public visit since March, a rare joint appearance with Prince William. The British monarch visited the UK Defense Science and Technology Laboratory to meet with scientists supporting the country’s COVID-19 response and to officially open its new Center for Energy Analysis. It was the 94-year-old queen’s first official engagement outside the palace walls since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the UK seven months ago, although she has continued to work during this time and remained visible through photos, video calls and posts.
The royal duo arrived at the lab near Salisbury in southern England in the late morning and were greeted by CEO Gary Aitkenhead. They took a private tour of the Energy Enclosure to see displays of weapons and tactics used in counterintelligence. The royalty then watched a demonstration from a forensic explosives investigation and met with counter-terrorism personnel. They also spoke with employees involved in identifying the nerve agent Novichok that poisoned former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March 2018, as well as members of the military deployed to assist with the investigation. Before leaving, the Queen formally inaugurated the new Center for Energy Analysis and unveiled a plaque.
The queen wore one of her signature sparkly outfits for today’s engagement, choosing a pink Stewart Parvin coat and matching Rachel Trevor-Morgan hat. He did not wear a mask, however social distancing was observed.
When the COVID-19 outbreak hit the UK in March, the Queen moved from Buckingham Palace to Windsor Castle, where she and Prince Philip were isolated with a select “bubble” of staff. There, he performed an unusual knighthood of 100-year-old Captain Tom Moore in June after he raised millions for NHS charities, and also participated in a scaled-down version of his official birthday parade. The monarch and her husband were able to travel to Balmoral in August and moved together to Sandringham in September. Earlier this month, the Queen returned alone to Windsor Castle, where she currently lives.
A Palace spokesman said his intention was “to resume the use of Buckingham Palace for select audiences and engagements.” She has continued to work behind the scenes while the younger members of the family have been away from home. Today’s visit underscores the fact that he intends to resume his public duties whenever possible during the pandemic.
Before COVID-19, the monarch occasionally made joint engagements with members of her family. His last meeting with Prince William was in June 2017 to meet with the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire and members of the emergency services who fought the blaze.
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