Queen Elizabeth, Prince William visit Salisbury to meet heroes of Sergei Skripal poisoning
The Queen has joined Prince William for her first public engagement since March – but one missing item has upset many.
The Queen stepped out on Thursday for her first royal engagement in seven months as she met with the Salisbury novichok poisoning heroes.
The 94-year-old monarch was joined by her grandson Prince William, 38, as they headed to Wiltshire to speak with staff involved in identifying the deadly nerve agent in Salisbury. Neither royal wore a mask despite the current coronavirus pandemic.
Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were left fighting for their lives in March 2018 with Salisbury put on lockdown as authorities desperately tried to clear up the dangerous substance used to poison them.
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It was the first engagement outside a royal palace for the Queen since the Commonwealth Ceremony at Westminster Abbey on March 9 with the UK put into lockdown in an attempt to stop the spread of coronavirus.
Her visit comes as it was announced London would go into Tier 2 restrictions at midnight on Friday as the country still struggles in its fight against the deadly virus.
No one at the event, including the royals, wore masks – a move which has shocked many.
TV personality 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.”
The palace said that the decision to not wear masks was made after consulting the Queen’s medical team.
“Specific advice has been sought from the medical household and relevant parties, and all necessary precautions taken, working closely with (the laboratory).”
The centre also tested all 48 staff who came near the royals for COVID-19 before the visit could take place.
The Queen appeared in good spirits as she toured the site. She wore a Stewart Parvin old rose cashmere coat and silk dress of autumnal woodland florals with a matching hat by Rachel Trevor Morgan.
She and Prince William grinned as they met explosives detection dog Max after being shown a model explosive device in a vehicle.
The Queen, who is a keen lover of dogs, then quizzed Max’s handler: “Is he more interested in the explosives or the ball?”
The handler replied: “Always the ball!”
The Queen then officially opened the £35 million ($A64 million) Energetics Analysis Centre at the high-security Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL).
The centre tweeted today: “We’re delighted to have received the royal seal of approval for DSTL’s science inside defence and security, with Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge visiting our site near Salisbury this morning.”
âš¡ï¸ â€œRoyal seal of approval for science inside UK's defence and security†by @dstlmod https://t.co/5JmmE8GXdU
— Dstl (@dstlmod) October 15, 2020
The Queen also spoke to scientists who are finding ways to beat the pandemic by deploying microbiologists to NHS hospitals to increase testing capacities.
The royals were then given a private tour of the Energetics Enclosure where they were shown a display of weaponry and tactics used in counter intelligence.
William then awarded the Firmin Sword of Peace, presented to armed forces that improve community relations, to 102 Logistic Brigade for their work cleaning up the novichok attack in Salisbury two years ago.
The royal engagement comes as the Queen returned to Windsor Castle earlier this month and is starting back her work at Buckingham Palace.
Palace chiefs have had a ring of steel around the monarch since March dubbed the “HMS Bubble”.
Teams of 24 key aides have worked three weeks on and three weeks off to keep the monarch safe from COVID-19.
Although the Queen has held private engagements inside Windsor Castle during the pandemic and spent a month on holiday at Balmoral, this was the first time she has been on an engagement outside a palace since March 9.
The $64 million Energetics Analysis Centre at Porton Down, Wiltshire, was completed in June last year.
It provides the UK with a world-class science and engineering facility to defend the nation from explosive materials.
This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission
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