“And as others in public office who should have known better, partied in the corridors – or at least gardens of power – she stuck to the rules and sat alone at her beloved husband, Prince Philip ’s, funeral in April last year.
“Now, a few weeks shy of her 96 th birthday, she has contracted the covid virus.
“The palace has assured us that there is no need for panic, with their statement talking of ‘mild cold like’ symptoms.
“Thankfully, she has a top medical team around her, monitoring constantly.
“As a rule, the Palace do not routinely talk about the Queen’s health unless they have something definite to say, and she clears it.
“This time they have been candid.
“What concerns me, however, is the reference to Her Majesty continuing with ‘light duties’ at Windsor over the coming week.
“I really think given her great age, that she should have a complete rest, and leave the duties to others in her family.
“There is no doubt The Prince of Wales and his family will be concerned by this development and won’t be complacent.
“Kate, Duchess of Cambridge flies to Copenhagen this week for a series of solo engagements. If there was a serious cause for concern, I am sure that overseas visit would have been postponed.
“That said, every time there is a palace bulletin about the health of the monarch, it focuses the minds of her family and her loyal subjects during this Platinum Jubilee year.”
Robert also believes the Queen’s latest health battle will be yet another reminder to Prince Harry of the distance between his new life in the US and his elderly relatives.
He adds: “I am sure it will focus the mind of Prince Harry too, who was once so close to the Queen.
“His wife, Meghan, seems happy never to return to these shores.
“But for Harry being more than 5,000 miles away from his family, at times like this, must emphasize his isolation from the House of Windsor.”
Majesty magazine’s Joe Little says the Queen will respond to her coronavirus diagnosis in a “matter-of-fact” manner.
He said: “I think the Queen is very stoic in every way.
“I would guess that she will be matter-of-fact about the diagnosis in a way perhaps that the people around her are less matter-of-fact.”
He added that there is “cause for concern” given that the Queen is two months away from turning 96, but it is believed she has the protection of three Covid vaccinations.
Mr Little said: “In the coming days a very close eye will be kept on her and the indications are that, all being well, it’s nothing more than a minor inconvenience.”
When asked how he thinks the royal family will have taken the news, he said: “They will be alarmed, but quite a few of those members of her family, the Prince of Wales in particular, have had Covid.
“He has had it twice, Prince William has had it and other members of the family have had it, but clearly they are not as old as the Queen.
“The irony is that for such a long time the Queen has been kept in a protective bubble, in the early stages of the pandemic, and had a very small number of staff with her in the bubble.
“Things have moved on since then and she’s been receiving people at Windsor Castle as she did only a few days ago.”
“Only recently the Queen of Denmark who is in her eighties had Covid and was in isolation for a few days and then recovered,” he added.
“Hopefully this will be the same for Queen Elizabeth II.”
Confirming the Queen’s diagnosis on Sunday, a statement from Buckingham Palace said: “Buckingham Palace confirm that The Queen has today tested positive for Covid.
