LONDON: Queen Elizabeth II complained Wednesday about mobility issues, as she carried out her first in-person official engagements since fears emerged that she could have contracted coronavirus last week.

       In video footage released of the 95-year-old monarch receiving two senior Royal Navy officers at her Windsor Castle residence, she could be heard remarking “as you can see, I can’t move” as she stood while holding a walking stick.

       Meeting the officers in the Oak Room sitting room at the castle, west of London, she had pointed to her left leg or foot as the area giving her discomfort.

       Buckingham Palace declined to comment, but it is understood she was feeling slightly stiff rather than having injured herself or being unwell.

       In a separate development, anxiety had grown about the queen’s possible exposure to Covid-19 after Prince Charles, her eldest son, tested positive for the virus for the second time, two days after meeting her.

       His wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, also then tested positive, and the couple have been self-isolating since, according to aides.

       Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2022