King recovers from Covid and resumes business as usual

KING Felipe VI has recovered from Covid and is back to his normal working routine after being forced to isolate at home.

The monarch, 54, noticed 'mild symptoms' compatible with a cold or 'flu and, as a precaution, ahead of his lunch meeting with Bosnia & Herzegovina president Željko Komšić on Wednesday, February 9, took a PCR test.

It came back positive, forcing him to cancel the meeting and switch to working from home, clearing his habitually-busy diary of of public appearances.

Health authorities in Spain currently recommend seven days' quarantine, followed by a further test before returning to normal life if this is negative.

To this end, Felipe VI took a second PCR on February 16, but this still showed up positive, so he had to remain behind closed doors.

Still with only minor 'flu-like symptoms, he was able to carry on working from his desk, and his wife, Queen Letizia and youngest daughter Sofía, 14, had no symptoms at all.

As the eldest daughter, Princess Leonor, 16, is currently at sixth-form college in Wales, she had not been in contact with her father recently enough for his to be a contagion risk to her.

Now, though, the Royal Household confirmed today (Monday, February 21) that the King had taken a third PCR, which was negative, and his symptoms had disappeared, meaning he is able to resume business as usual.

In light of his negative result, HRH Felipe presided over a handful of acts this morning at his home, the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, starting with the graduation ceremony of the customs surveillance team and that of the State auditors' class of 2022, and continuing via an audience with the board of directors of the Spanish Company of Creditor Insurance.

This evening, he was due to preside over the opening ceremony of the 500th anniversary of the death of Antonio de Nebrija at the Theatre Royal.

Donning an FFP2 mask, King Felipe chatted with those he met in a relaxed and friendly manner, admitting he was relieved to be able to get back to his usual work schedule after 12 days in quarantine.

The monarch had been vaccinated earlier in 2021 with the single-dose Janssen formula, and had a booster jab in accordance with health service recommendations towards the end of the year, which would either have been a Pfizer or a Moderna.