Queen Elizabeth Is Fully Vaccinated! 94-Year-Old Received Second COVID-19 Shot Before First Public Appearance Of 2021
Apr. 1 2021, Published 12:04 p.m. ET
If you're wondering why Queen Elizabeth II was not wearing a mask at her first public appearance on Wednesday, March 31, it's because the 94-year-old is fully vaccinated!
Still, the monarch adhered to socially distant measures while visiting the Commonwealth Air Forces Memorial in Runnymede, Surrey, to mark the centenary of the Royal Australian Air Force.
In January, Buckingham Palace confirmed the Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, 99, received their first dose of the shot.
One month later, she advised others to get vaccinated if they were eligible and able to.
"It was very quick, and I've had lots of letters from people who have been surprised by how easy it was to get the vaccine," she said on a video call. "And the jab — it didn't hurt at all."
Prince William even commented on his grandparents' recent milestone. "My grandparents have had the vaccine and I'm very proud of them for doing that," William shared. "It's really important that everyone gets their vaccine."
During the event, the Queen donned a bright green outfit — just in time for spring!
"It's a very long time since I've been here," she joked when she arrived on-site.
“As one of the oldest Air Forces in the world, it is fitting to pay tribute to the efficiency, skill and sacrifice of the men and women who have served in its ranks, in Australia and overseas, during the past one hundred years,” she said in a statement. "Throughout my reign, the Royal Australian Air Force has shown immense dedication to duty and defended our freedom in many conflicts around the world."
The Queen has been quarantining at Windsor Castle with her husband amid the pandemic and has only been spotted at two events in the past six months.
In October 2020, she met scientists at a facility near Salisbury, and one month later, she attended the centenary of the burial of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey.
