Prince William’s Covid infection secret ‘slightly strange’

The prince’s decision not to reveal that he tested positive in April has been ­described by a royal expert as an unusual ‘break with precedent’.

Prince William contracted COVID-19 in April. Picture: Getty Images

Prince William’s decision not to reveal that he tested positive for COVID-19 in April has been ­described by a royal expert as an unusual “break with precedent”.

The duke was left struggling to breathe when he contracted the virus about the same time as his ­father and Boris Johnson, it was understood.

Royal biographer Penny Junor said it was “odd” that Kensington Palace had not said anything publicly about it.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have returned to Windsor Castle together, prompting speculation that their usual Christmas at Sandringham may be in doubt. Buckingham Palace said that they travelled there after the Queen, 94, joined Prince ­Philip for the weekend at Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate.

Philip, 99, who spent the first lockdown with the Queen at Windsor, had been staying at Wood Farm since the Queen ­returned to Windsor in early ­October. The couple will mark their 73rd wedding anniversary on November 20.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said the duke’s move to Windsor had been planned for a while.

“It’s very nice if they are ­together in the same residence and same part of the world. It’s company for one another,” Ms Junor said.

Majesty magazine editor Joe Little said: “Clearly (the move) ­indicates there isn’t going to be any sort of Christmas at Sand­ringham.” Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

Prince William’s positive COVID-19 result was disclosed by The Sun, which said that he did not tell anyone about the diagnosis because “there were important things going on and I didn’t want to worry anyone”. He was said to be “determined it should be business as usual”.

A Kensington Palace source said: “People were worried enough without us adding to that. At the time it felt like the right thing to do. It did not seem helpful to public consciousness and morale to start worrying people that both future monarchs and the Prime Minister of this country were all very ill at this point.”

However, Clarence House did not hesitate to announce when the Prince of Wales tested positive in March. A few weeks later — around the time he was infected — William told the BBC that his father was finding the virus mentally “quite challenging”.

Kensington Palace confirmed that William, 38, had had the virus, but declined to comment further.

The Sun said William was treated by palace doctors and followed government guidelines by isolating at Anmer Hall in Norfolk, the family home, carrying out 14 phone and video call engagements in April.

He did not go to hospital but did not carry out any engagements between April 9 and 16. While William’s condition was widely known among royal households, Kensington Palace decided not to make a public ­announcement.

“It is very odd, because in the past the rationale has always been that it is in the public interest that we know every last detail about members of the family,” Ms Junor said. “This is a break with precedent. It is slightly strange. I think it is part of him being controlling and private, and wanting to keep his health to himself — which is ­absolutely fair enough.”

The Times