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Life as the sovereign monarch is the only thing Queen Elizabeth II has known. Following the sudden death of her father King George VI in February 1952, she became the Crowned Queen and the head of the British royal family. It has not been an easy task. From challenging Prime Ministers and world events to personal failures and scandals, she has seen it all. Yet, the queen has always found her footing.

However, at age 94, Queen Elizabeth II has found herself in unprecedented times. Amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the queen has been forced to halt her royal engagements and many of her duties. Due to her advanced age, she has had to become extra cautious about her health and well-being.

Unfortunately, one royal expert believes that the queen might never return to public life.

Queen Elizabeth is being forced to slow down

Before we understood the seriousness of the coronavirus, the queen continued to carry on with her royal duties, only making slight adjustments to her schedule. According to Ingrid Seward, editor of Majesty Magazine, the queen has an, “If I stop, I drop” mentality that has helped her press on for the past several decades.

“If you think about it, her entire life has been one of duty,” Seward explained. “Even from when she was a tiny child her day was very regulated. So she will be very unused to this. She has probably been doing some of the things we have all been doing like going through draws and photo albums. Certainly, one thing is that she will have been kept busy because she always says ‘if I stop, I drop’. She will probably celebrate with her immediate staff because she is not able to be around anyone else. Normally she might perhaps go riding but she certainly would think that was the wrong thing to do at the moment. She is very conscious as always of other people and their problems.”

Queen Elizabeth is self-isolating with Prince Philip and 22 staff members

At present, the queen has left London for Windsor Castle where she is self-isolating with Prince Philip and 22-staff members. She has been taking video calls with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other important political figures. She has also kept in touch with her friends and family through Zoom.

According to The Sun, the royal couple has 22 vital staffers isolating with them whose focus is to make sure the queen and Duke of Edinburgh are happy and healthy. “They won’t be seeing their families because no risks can be taken and they can’t go in and out,” an insider told The Sun. “The most important thing is to protect the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh from the virus. If something happened to them it doesn’t bear thinking about.”

Queen Elizabeth may never return to public life

Unfortunately, since there are still so many unknown variables about the coronavirus and no vaccine, the queen might never return to public life.

“It’s terribly sad but I can’t see how the Queen can resume her usual job,”  royal biographer Andrew Morton explained to The Sun. “The Covid-19 virus isn’t going away soon and will be with us for months, if not years. It would be far too risky for the Queen to start meeting people on a regular basis. She has always loved getting out and meeting people but she can’t take the risk. How can she carry out investitures, meet ambassadors, do walkabout, and visit places without meeting people at close range? If she gets the bug, it could be fatal and would put Prince Philip at risk. We will have a Zoom monarchy, she will be Her Majesty the screen.”

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