King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Silvia of Sweden.Photo: PONTUS LUNDAHL/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images
King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden are the latest royals to test positive for COVID-19.
The palace announced Tuesday that the Swedish monarch, 75, and his wife, 78, “have mild symptoms and are feeling well, given the circumstances.” The statement added that the royal couple have both received three vaccinations.
King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia “isolated themselves in the home in accordance with current rules of conduct, and infection tracking is ongoing,” the palace said.
Like many countries around the world, Sweden is currently experiencing asurge in coronavirus casesdue to the Omicron variant.
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.Fredrik SANDBERG / TT NEWS AGENCY/ AFP/Getty
Unlike many European countries, Sweden avoided a full lockdown amid the pandemic, instead relying on voluntary guidelines. In his 2020 Christmas speech, King Carl XVI Gustaf spoke out against the country’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic in arare rebuff.
“I think we have failed,” he said. “A large number have died, and that is terrible.”
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Swedish Royal Family.Michael Campanella/Getty
King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia are just the latest members of the Swedish royal family to have the illness. Their eldest childCrown Princess Victoriaand her husband Crown Prince Daniel of Swedenshowed “slight symptoms"after testing positive in March 2021, months after Victoria’s younger brother Prince Carl Philip and sister-in-law Princess Sofia caught the illness andexperienced flu-like symptoms.
They join a long list of royals from around the world who have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic last year. Just last month,Princess Maryof Denmark tested positive ahead of Christmas as didPrincess Anne’s husbandVice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence.
Queen Elizabeth decidednot to take her traditional tripto Sandringham for Christmas amid the rise in COVID-19 cases in the U.K. Instead, she stayed at Windsor Castle and marked the holiday with her son Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
source: people.com
