LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday carried out her first public engagement outside of a royal residence since early March when the coronavirus pandemic started to impact upon on all aspects of day-to-day life in the U.K.
The 94-year-old monarch was joined by her grandson Prince William at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down near Salisbury, in southern England, and met with scientists battling the virus.
The queen unveiled a plaque to officially open the new 30 million-pound ($39 million) Energetics Analysis Centre, used by scientists for counter-terrorist work. The royal pair were also introduced to staff involved in the rapid response to the Novichok poisoning attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury in 2018.
Though the U.K. is in the midst of a resurgence of the virus, neither the queen nor William were seen donning a face covering but both observed social distancing rules of staying 6.5 feet apart from each other and anyone else.