16 February 2022

Charles to visit Wales as he emerges from isolation after catching Covid again

16 February 2022

The Prince of Wales is due to visit Wales in what is expected to be his first public appearance since isolating after catching coronavirus for a second time.

Charles was forced to pull out of engagements in Winchester last week after testing positive for Covid-19.

His royal visit to Swansea and Newport will take place two days after the Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into the cash for honours scandal involving the heir to throne’s Prince’s Foundation charity.

The pressure group Republic contacted Scotland Yard last September and reported both the future king and Michael Fawcett, Charles’s former royal valet, on suspicion of breaching the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925.

Charles tested positive after having attended a reception to celebrate the British Asian Trust at the British Museum in London (Tristan Fewings/PA) (PA Wire)

At the time Clarence House said the prince had “no knowledge” of the alleged cash-for-honours scandal.

Mr Fawcett, who has since resigned as chief executive of the Foundation, was accused of promising to help secure a knighthood and British citizenship for a Saudi billionaire donor.

It was announced on February 10 that the prince, who first fell ill with coronavirus in 2020, had received a positive test result.

Under the current rules, people can leave isolation after five full days, if they test negative on days five and six.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has signalled that laws requiring people in England with Covid-19 to self-isolate will be lifted within weeks, meaning Charles just missed out on any changes.

The Duchess of Cornwall carried out a string of engagements on the day Charles tested positive, describing herself as “luckily” negative the same day.

But, on Monday, it was revealed that she too had tested positive and Clarence House alerted the organisations Camilla had visited and the media who covered her engagements.

Concern had been growing for the Queen’s health after it was confirmed she met with Charles two days before he tested positive for the virus.

Camilla is still in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19 (Tolga Akmen/PA) (PA Wire)

Buckingham Palace has continued to refuse to confirm whether the Queen had tested positive or negative for Covid, citing medical privacy, and saying last week only that she was not displaying any symptoms.

The monarch carried out virtual audiences with ambassadors from Windsor Castle on Tuesday, and held an in person audience with military staff on Wednesday, which appeared to suggest she may have escaped the virus.

On Friday, Charles is due to meet staff and patients at St David’s Hospice in Newport, before visiting Dylan Thomas Community School in Swansea which runs the Prince’s Trust’s Achieve programme.

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