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Queen Elizabeth II wore a face mask in public for the first time during the coronavirus pandemic when she attended a short ceremony at Westminster Abbey last week to mark the centenary of the burial of the Unknown Warrior.
Although the 94-year-old monarch has been seen in public on several occasions in recent months, she has not been portrayed wearing a headdress until now.
On Wednesday, during his first public engagement in London since March, he wore a black mask edged in white. Photos from the ceremony were officially released last Saturday.
“It was wonderful to see His Majesty in good spirits and in good health,” said Dr David Hoyle, Dean of Westminster, after the service. “We talked about the centennial and the life of the abbey. This is where she was married and she is aware of these associations.”
Only the dean and the queen’s knight, Lieutenant Colonel Nana Kofi Twumasi-Ankrah, were present at the brief service. The queen left behind a bouquet of orchids and myrtle, based on her bridal bouquet from November 1947. She bowed her head after a prayer from the dean.
The queen had requested that a ceremony be held as the pandemic had derailed plans for the centenary of the Unknown Warrior’s burial.
The tomb is the final resting place of an unidentified British soldier who died during the First World War. His body was brought back from the north of France and buried in Westminster Abbey on 11 November 1920.
‘Within the limits’
The ceremony took place one day before a four-week lockdown in England took effect. In addition to forcing the closure of a number of businesses, places of worship must operate within certain limits.
Face coverings are required by law in some indoor environments such as on public transport, in shops and places of worship. The UK government also recommends that they be worn in indoor locations where social distancing can be difficult and where people come into contact with those they don’t normally meet.
Other members of the royal family were seen regularly wearing headdresses during the pandemic. The queen was criticized for not wearing one last month when she visited the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory in Porton Down, southern England, along with her grandson, Prince William.
The Queen took the opportunity during her rare trip to London to visit Buckingham Palace, her official residence in the capital.
Before the UK closed on March 23, the Queen and her 99-year-old husband Prince Philip moved to Windsor Castle, which is about 40 kilometers west of London.
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