An important COVID update about Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip has emerged

(Image credit: Tim Graham/Getty Images)

Coronavirus has changed everything about life as we know it, with people still isolated to their homes in a third lockdown. Not exempt from this are the royal family.

Queen Elizabeth, 94, and the Duke of Edinburgh, 99, are based in Windsor Castle, where they have been on lockdown for most of the past year.

This week, the royal couple made headlines as an important update emerged.

The Queen has now received her second COVID-19 vaccination, reportedly getting the 'jab' as she referred to it, ahead of her first public appearance of the year last week, to mark the Centenary of the Royal Australian Air Force.

A photo posted by on

Buckingham Palace confirmed the news in January that both the Queen and Prince Philip had received their first vaccines, with a source explaining that the vaccinations were administered at Windsor Castle by a household doctor. The source also explained that the Queen chose for the news that she had been vaccinated to be made public.

'Once you've had the vaccine you have a feeling of, you know, you're protected, which is I think very important,' the Queen explained at the time, via Sky News. 'As far as I could make out it was quite harmless. It was very quick, and I've had lots of letters from people who have been very surprised by how easy it was to get the vaccine. And the jab—it didn't hurt at all.'

The royal family has not yet commented on the second vaccination.

While Buckingham Palace chose to make the news public that the Queen and Prince Philip had received their first doses of the vaccine earlier this year, they did state that they would not be making an additional announcement regarding their second shot.

We will continue to update this story.

Jenny Proudfoot
Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. She has worked at Marie Claire UK for seven years, rising from intern to Features Editor and is now the most published Marie Claire writer of all time. She was made a 30 under 30 award-winner last year and named a rising star in journalism by the Professional Publishers Association.