Queen Elizabeth Uses an Old School Telephone for Meeting with Prime Minister Amid Coronavirus

Any fan of The Crown knows about Queen Elizabeth‘s weekly audiences with the prime minister. However, the coronavirus pandemic means that those meetings are taking place a bit differently for the time being.

As she did last week, the 93-year-old monarch’s meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson took place via telephone on Wednesday. Both the Royal Family’s official social media pages and the prime minister’s office at 10 Downing St. shared photos of the chat.

Although the Queen’s team is discussing whether she will hold meetings with key aides via video chats like FaceTime or Skype as the world shifts to working from home, she stuck to a trusty throwback phone for Wednesday’s call.

The photo also gave a glimpse into the Queen’s home at Windsor Castle, where she is staying with husband Prince Philip for the foreseeable future. Small statues of corgis — her favorite dogs! — are seen on the desk.

The meeting comes hours after it was revealed that the Queen’s eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, tested positive for coronavirus. A Clarence House spokesperson confirmed the diagnosis in a statement, saying, “The Prince of Wales has tested positive for Coronavirus. He has been displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual.”

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The 71-year-old royal and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, 72 — who was also tested and found to be negative — are separately self-isolating at Birkhall, their home on Queen Elizabeth‘s Balmoral estate in Scotland.

The Prince of Wales, who became the first member of the British royal family with a positive diagnosis of the coronavirus, last saw his mother the Queen on March 12, according to the statement by Buckingham Palace.

“Her Majesty The Queen remains in good health. The Queen last saw The Prince of Wales briefly after the investiture on the morning of 12th March and is following all the appropriate advice with regard to her welfare,” a palace spokesman added.

In a statement released by Buckingham Palace last week, the monarch addressed the current and upcoming challenges posed by the rising concerns of the coronavirus pandemic and asserted the strong need to work together as a country.

“As Philip and I arrive at Windsor today, we know that many individuals and families across the United Kingdom, and around the world, are entering a period of great concern and uncertainty,” she began.

“Many of us will need to find new ways of staying in touch with each other and making sure that loved ones are safe. I am certain we are up to that challenge,” the statement concluded. “You can be assured that my family and I stand ready to play our part.”

As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments and visit our coronavirus hub.


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