Buckingham Palace has been forced to issue a swift statement, after the Queen and Prince William were criticised for not wearing masks during a royal engagement.
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Her Majesty stepped out alongside her grandson at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in southwest England on Thursday, but neither were wearing face masks.
Despite adhering to social distancing guidelines, the 94-year-old’s visit sparked backlash on social media about whether she and Wills acted in accordance with government rules.
“The Queen should have ignored her pride and worn a mask today. The message is: ALL of us must be vigilant to contain the virus & keep well,” one person wrote.
They added: “By refusing to wear a mask she gave the covidiots support to NOT keep safe. The mask wearers needed her support more.”
Another person stated: “If the Queen isn’t wearing a mask at the age of 94 what does it tell you?”
Meanwhile, a third person added: “Yes the Queen should’ve worn a mask. The head of state should lead by example.”
Following the heated backlash, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson issued a swift reply, which confirmed that the Queen sought expert advice ahead of her outdoor visit.
“Specific advice has been sought from the medical household and relevant parties, and all necessary precautions taken, working closely with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory,” the statement read.
In response to the palace statement, Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan tweeted: “Why no masks or social distancing? Sorry, but this is not a smart move by the Royal Family as the virus rages and the country heads into another lockdown.”
Meanwhile, Finding Freedom author Omid Scobie added: “No masks for anyone at today’s engagement, but Buckingham Palace confirm that the Queen consulted her own doctors and all staff at @dstlmod tested negative before the visit.
“My two cents: While sensible and safe precautions were clearly made, I do worry that most people seeing the photos/videos won’t know the back story. As the majority of the UK enters tighter restrictions, seeing leaders in masks would have been a strong visual.”
None of the staff at the facility wore masks, but according to Express, everyone had been tested for COVID-19 and returned negative results ahead of the royal visit.
Despite the backlash, the royal visit marked the first time Her Majesty has stepped out for an offical engagement since going into lockdown in March.
As part of the official meet and greet, the 94-year-old and her grandson opened the new Energetics Centre at the high-level science laboratory.
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