Queen Elizabeth Wears Gloves to Shake Hands at Investiture Ceremony Amid Coronavirus Scare
Queen Elizabeth is playing it safe.
The 93-year-old monarch opted to wear gloves during Tuesday’s investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace, leading to speculation of whether it was a safety measure from coronavirus.
It is not uncommon for the Queen to wear gloves, but she has not been known to wear them during an investiture ceremony when she’s awarding honors and shaking hands with members of the public.
During investiture ceremonies, a centuries-old tradition, members of the royal family present medals to those who have awarded honors in person.
PA Wire/PA Images
In a Twitter video posted by the Royal Family, the Queen is seen wearing gloves as she presents Harry Billinge, a D-Day war veteran who was rewarded for his charity work, with his MBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire).
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The Queen presented Harry Billinge with an MBE today.
The D-Day veteran raised £1 for every British soldier who died at Normandy to help fund a @normandymtrust memorial.
‘I am choked beyond measure to think I have got an MBE. I don’t deserve it.’ We disagree, Harry.🎖 pic.twitter.com/u7jCEa7Viw— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) March 3, 2020
Other notable figures who have received honors from the Queen or another member of the royal family include Kate Winslet, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ed Sheeran and Helen Mirren, who is famous for her acting roles playing the Queen herself.
PA Images/Sipa Queen Elizabeth and Benedict Cumberbatch during an investiture ceremony in 2015
Meanwhile, during Prince William and Kate Middleton‘s three-day tour in Ireland, the Duke of Cambridge made an offhand comment about the severity of coronavirus, and joked how he and Kate have been spreading it themselves due to the amount of hands they’ve been shaking since their arrival.
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Samir Hussein/WireImage Kate Middleton and Prince William
“Does it seem quite dramatic about coronavirus at the moment? Is it being a little bit hyped up do you think in the media?” he asked a local paramedic at a reception hosted in the Gravity Bar at Guinness Storehouse in Dublin.
“By the way, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are spreading coronavirus, sorry,” William joked. “We’re keeping an eye on that, so do tell us if we need to stop.”
A royal source tells PEOPLE that Prince William has been taking the threat of the coronavirus seriously and that the couple is following guidance from Public Health England and the Department of Health — and that means “business as usual” for now.
So far, there have been two confirmed cases of coronavirus in Ireland, with the most recent one discovered late Tuesday night, the Irish Times reports.
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Coronavirus cases in the U.K. have recently risen to 85, according to the BBC. Though no deaths have been reported in the U.K. at this time.
The outbreak has sickened more than 94,000 people worldwide, according to the New York Times. As of Wednesday, at least 3,210 have died, with the majority of the deaths in China, where the virus first spread.
