However, the alleged reality is that Prince Philip would rather be anywhere than the Queen’s side, and vice versa. Is that a heartbreaking thought or what?
Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth have now been cooped up together at Windsor Castle for weeks now. While having limited movement and places to go to maybe a struggle, not just for them, but for all people striving to practice social distancing measures, the British are comforted with the idea that they are at least together.
The British Government introduced very strict social distancing measures because of the dreaded pandemic and the royals are not exempted.
The Queen arrived at the Berkshire-based castle earlier than Prince Philip, but she was later joined by the Duke of Edinburgh. Normally, the two live apart and only reunite at Windsor to celebrate the Easter holidays. So being together might also be a novelty that people expect them to at least enjoy, even though it is not the most ideal of times.
However, the reality is that the two are so used to being away from each other that the new setup is probably not working as well. Prince Philip reportedly still wants to be on his own and away from the Queen. Had the present circumstances push them to live with each other now, the 98-year-old Duke would be at the Wood Farm on the Queen’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.
He moved there after retiring in 2017 and enjoyed his quiet time there, reading and painting watercolors mostly. The Queen once called him her “constant strength.”
Meanwhile, if the coronavirus did not affect them so, the Queen would be at the Palace, still performing her duties full time.
According to an old friend, Prince Philip does not feel bored at the farm at all. Instead, he loved being the master of his own time and as far away as possible from cameras. This is why Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth no longer see each other much after retirement.
While the Prince might be happier or at least more comfortable back to his usual activities before the pandemic, a source from The Times said that the two are not having any issues with this sudden time together at all. Moreover, they still have their private apartments during this lockdown anyway, so there is no shortage of individual privacy.
The Queen is still keeping up with what is happening by reading the news and calling up the rest of the family through video messages.
The Duke of Edinburgh retired from his royal duties after handling around 22,219 engagements solo. He is also patron of a total of 785 organizations. After being so silent since his retirement, Prince Philip suddenly issued his first public statement because of the COVID-19 as well. In his statement, he thanked the essential workers making the country still run as normally as possible, even though it is quite scary to step out of the house these days.
There are even alarming reports that the lockdown of Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth can take a turn for the worse if the Duke’s health is compromised. Reportedly, the Prince is already quite frail.