Prince Charles cancels Hampshire trip to Winchester after testing positive for Covid-19

It is the second time heir to the throne Charles, 73, has contracted coronavirus, after he fell ill with the virus in 2020.

A message on the prince’s official Twitter page read: ‘This morning The Prince of Wales has tested positive for COVID-19 and is now self-isolating.

‘HRH is deeply disappointed not to be able to attend today’s events in Winchester and will look to reschedule his visit as soon as possible.’

The development comes just days after the Queen marked her Platinum Jubilee by expressing her ‘sincere wish’ that the Duchess of Cornwall would be Queen Camilla at Charles’s side when he is one day King.

On Wednesday evening, Charles met scores of people and was accompanied by Camilla at a reception in the British Museum to celebrate the work of the British Asian Trust (BAT).

He was due to be in Hampshire today.

The announcement of the prince’s positive test was made just after midday, around 12 minutes before Charles was due to arrive in Winchester on a visit to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Aides were only informed a few moments before.

More than 1,000 people were gathered behind barriers in the city’s Jewry Street, waiting to see the prince unveil a new statue of Licoricia of Winchester, a prominent Jewish moneylender who was murdered in 1277 during a period of antisemitism in the reign of Edward I that culminated in the expulsion of Jews from England in 1290.

The Queen’s representative in Hampshire, the Lord Lieutenant Nigel Atkinson, told the crowd, who groaned with disappointment when he relayed the news.