The Queen admitted she was feeling weak during an in-person appearance. Photo / Getty Images
The Queen admitted she was feeling weak during an in-person appearance. Photo / Getty Images
The Queen has admitted to feeling frail as she returns to work for the first time amid the scandal engulfing Prince Andrew.
She leaned on a walking stick as she met with incoming Defence Services Secretary Major General Eldon Millar and his predecessor Rear Admiral James Macleod, reports the Daily Mail.
The Queen told the two men "I can't move", leaning on her cane as she pointed to her left leg - but smiled as they came forward and shook her hand.
When asked "How are you?" she replied, "Well as you can see, I can't move", as she shook their hands.
It's understood the Queen is feeling slightly stiff today, rather than being unwell or having injured herself.
The meeting marked her first in-person appearance after her Covid-19 scare since her contact with her son Prince Charles just two days before he tested positive for the virus.
Buckingham Palace won't confirm whether or not the Queen also tested positive for Covid-19 due to her medical privacy, but said last week that she was not displaying any symptoms.
And it appears the Queen has escaped the virus despite coming into contact with Charles, whose wife Camilla also tested positive.
The Queen will have taken lateral flow tests over the past several days, closely monitored by doctors. It is also not clear whether she was self-isolating.
The Queen speaks with Rear Admiral James Macleod (right) and Major General Eldon Millar. Photo / Getty Images
The meeting comes amid a gruelling week for the Queen, as Prince Andrew settled his sexual assault case yesterday.
Today's meeting came after she conducted her first official appearances since her virus scare, though those were virtual meetings from Windsor Castle with Spanish and Estonian ambassadors.
And a source reveals that beforehand, she would have "read this morning's coverage of her son Prince Andrew's settlement with his accuser and been informed of the police probe into Prince Charles' charity."
There would have been much for the Queen to discuss with Major General Millar due to Andrew losing his military titles.
The Duke of York agreed to an undisclosed out-of-court settlement with his accuser Virginia Giuffre yesterday, after she claimed he had sex with her when she was 17 after she was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein.
