The Queen’s upcoming visits to Cheshire and Camden have been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, Buckingham Palace has announced.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall had already pulled out of their spring overseas tour days before it was due to begin, raising the prospect that more royal engagements could be cancelled in the coming weeks.
The Queen, 93, was due to visit the Bentley Motors factory in Crewe, and Jodrell Bank Observatory and Square Kilometre Array global headquarters in Macclesfield on March 19.
A spokesman for the Queen said: “As a sensible precaution and for practical reasons in the current circumstances, changes are being made to the Queen’s diary commitments in the coming weeks.
“In consultation with the Medical Household and Government, Her Majesty’s forthcoming visits to Cheshire and Camden will be rescheduled.
“Audiences will continue as usual. Other events will be reviewed on an ongoing basis in line with the appropriate advice.”
The day of engagements next Thursday would have seen the monarch travel to Cheshire to meet staff and apprentices at the Bentley factory, operate the Lovell Telescope at the observatory and meet local schoolchildren engaging in hands-on science activities.
The Queen wore gloves when she handed out honours to recipients at a palace investiture on March 3.
England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, has said the death rate for people infected with coronavirus is “significantly ramped up” among those over the age of 80.
Charles and Camilla were set to tour Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus and Jordan in just four days’ time, but the trip was postponed on Friday at the request of the Government.
A Clarence House spokesman said the decision was taken “owing to the unfolding situation with the coronavirus pandemic”.
The prince, 71, and the duchess, 72, are understood to be in good health.
It was to be the first official royal visit to Cyprus for 27 years.
Charles was preparing to travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina on March 17 and 18, to be joined by Camilla in Cyprus from March 18 to 21, and to head to Jordan together until March 25.
His solo visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina was to pay his respects in the 25th anniversary year of the Srebrenica genocide.
Other members of the royal family have also been altering the way they greet others amid the outbreak of the Covid-19 illness.
It is not known whether the incoming state visit by the Emperor of Japan at Windsor Castle in May could be postponed.
Princess Beatrice, the Duke of York’s eldest daughter, is preparing to marry property tycoon Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi – who has dual British and Italian citizenship – at the end of May.
Italy, the world’s worst-hit country after China, is in nationwide lockdown.
The Duke of Sussex, who is to quit as a senior royal at the end of the month, has been gearing up for his Invictus Games in The Hague, Netherlands, in May.
Current and former servicemen and women from more than 20 countries will gather for the sporting competition if it goes ahead.
Charles held an investiture at the palace on Thursday and Camilla joined racegoers on Ladies’ Day at the Cheltenham Festival on Wednesday.
The Princess Royal and her daughter Zara Tindall were out and about enjoying the races at Cheltenham on Friday.
More than 8,000 guests at a time mingle on the lawns of Buckingham Palace in London or at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
The monarch welcomes more than 30,000 people to her garden parties every year.
