On Wednesday (March 31), Queen Elizabeth made her first public appearance of the year. While Her Majesty has stayed busy over the past year with virtual engagements, she has rarely been seen in public since the start of the pandemic. Her first engagement honored the Centenary of the Royal Australian Air Force at the CWGC Air Forces Memorial in Surrey, which is just a short drive from Windsor Castle where the Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, have been in quarantine.
Queen Elizabeth's appearance was also notable because she stepped out without a mask. The monarch, who will turn 95 on April 21, received both vaccine doses ahead of the engagement, which was held outside.
Back in February, the Queen spoke about her experience receiving the COVID-19 vaccine during a virtual engagement. "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. "And the jab — it didn't hurt at all."
Prince William praised his grandparents for receiving the vaccine and setting an example for everybody else in the U.K. "My grandparents have had the vaccine and I'm very proud of them for doing that," he said during one of his own virtual engagements. "It's really important that everyone gets their vaccine."
Kate Middleton chimed in, as well, with her support of the vaccine, saying she hopes vaccination "comes as a huge relief in the end. I know there's maybe the anxiety and the worry leading up to it, but I hope for all of you it will add a bit of normality back to your lives and confidence as well as we go forward into the spring, that would be great."
Photo: Getty