The Queen “breached royal protocol” by confirming that she and Prince Philip had received the coronavirus vaccine, royal commentators have said. Buckingham Palace announced that the monarch and Duke of Edinburgh, 94 and 99 years old respectively, had been administered their first doses near the beginning of the month. HeirPod hosts Omid Scobie and ABC News foreign correspondent Maggie Rulli discussed why this was break from tradition.
Mr Scobie told listeners: “The Queen decided to let it be known that she’d had the vaccination to prevent any further speculation about whether she would or wouldn’t.
“The Palace’s earlier decision was to not share the news, and were telling all members of the press that it was highly unlikely or virtually impossible that we would ever know.
“It would have been a breach of royal protocol to share private medical matters.
“I think this really speaks to how seriously the Queen is taking the pandemic as a monarch.”
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He continued: “I think there’s a real thought that’s gone in there that by sharing this news they’re also perhaps making others feel less worried about it, removing some of the stigma or concerns or conspiracy theories surrounding the vaccinations.
“I would imagine that that’s done a great deal of good instead of keeping it to oneself.”
Ms Rulli agreed: “Looking at the royal household in the UK, tradition is always this thing they stand by.
“For decades the Queen has stood by tradition, often choosing silence as a way to get through and get by and remain a monarchy in power.”
Although both senior royals are due a second dose, it will not be revealed when they are receiving it.
According to the NHS, the second dose can be given between three and 12 weeks after the first.
The specific vaccine that was used will also not be diverged.
As of January 8, three vaccines have been approved for use by UK regulators.
These are: Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and Oxford/AstraZeneca.
