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Prince Charles reduces number of staff in household amid coronavirus outbreak

Prince Charles tested positive for COVID-19

prince charles
Sharnaz Shahid
Deputy Online Editor
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The British royal family are taking all the right precautions in trying to reduce the spread of coronavirus. With the Queen now retreating to Windsor Castle and Prince Charles in Scotland, the royals are currently self-isolating with a reduced workforce in a bid to take extra care for themselves as well as the health of their staff. On Wednesday, it was confirmed that Princes Charles, who is residing as his Scottish residence in Birkhall on the Balmoral Estate, had tested positive for COVID-19.

WATCH: Prince Charles tests positive for coronavirus

Although Charles and his wife Camilla are self-isolating separately, they have a small number of domestic staff who have stayed on. HELLO! understands the royal household is following the appropriate advice. Prince Charles and Camilla are currently living with six members of staff, who are remaining separate from the royal couple.

READ: How you can still visit royal palaces during coronavirus lockdown

Former royal doctor Anna Hemming recently gave HELLO! an insight into the royals' caring nature behind-the-scenes towards the palace workers. Anna, who worked at Buckingham Palace for seven years during her time as a GP for the royal household, revealed that it is likely the royals will provide a special isolation unit for their staff. "They live within a very large establishment and Buckingham Palace is almost run like a big hotel and there are lots of people living within close proximity to each other," she explained.

charles camilla reception

Prince Charles and Camilla are in Scotland

"For example the housemaids' floor, they live very close together so I am sure that they will be making sure that everyone is fit and healthy. Nobody is going to be mixing if they are not well, I am sure that they have an isolation unit set up for the staff, they will be looking after them really well." The Queen and the rest of the royal family have also been adapting their diaries and the way they work in light of the current pandemic. She has been conducting her weekly audiences with Prime Minister Boris Johnson by telephone.

MORE: Doctor suffering from coronavirus reveals his symptoms over two-week period

birkhall

Charles and the Queen at Birkhall in 2009

Other members of the royal family have also postponed and cancelled a number of their engagements, and they are currently adapting their plans in line with the UK government's advice. Prince William released a video message to launch The National Emergencies Trust's appeal to raise money for charities helping vulnerable people during the crisis, while his uncle the Earl of Wessex participated in a video conference in relation to the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Foundation last week.

READ: How Prince William and Kate will home-school their children during coronavirus

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