Queen Elizabeth reveals she feels ‘EXHAUSTED’ following her battle with COVID - “This horrible pandemic. It’s not a nice result.”
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The coronavirus definitely doesn’t pick its victims. In celebration of the official opening of the Royal London Hospital’s unit named in her honour, Queen Elizabeth disclosed how contracting the virus has made her ‘very tired and exhausted’ in a virtual appearance.
Queen Elizabeth smiling in a Zoom meeting. Image Credit: The Royal Family
The Queen Elizabeth unit was built in only five weeks and it boasts 155 beds over two floors. The unit was critical as COVID cases soared in the UK throughout 2020 and 2021.
The monarch listened intently to the stories of medical staff and patients as part of the opening ceremony.
She openly discussed her symptoms with a former patient at the hospital, Asef Hussain, whose brother and father sadly passed from the virus.
During her conversation with Asef Hussain, the Queen said: “It does leave one very tired and exhausted, doesn’t it?
“This horrible pandemic. It’s not a nice result.”
In December 2020, Asef was the third member of his family to be admitted to the Royal London Hospital after being infected by the virus.
The monarch speaking with Asef Hussain. Image Credit: The Royal Family
His brother passed first, closely followed by his father, who died while Asef was on a ventilator.
Recalling his horrific experience, Asef said: “I remember waking my wife saying that I feel like there’s no oxygen in the room. I remember sticking my head out the window, just trying to breathe, trying to get that extra oxygen.”
He remained on a ventilator for seven more weeks and is still in recovery.
The Queen acknowledged the deep struggle of the patients being isolated away from their families and friends while they were in the hospital.
“Of course, not being able to see your relatives was very hard,” she said.
She also spoke with the hospital chaplain, Imam Faruq Siddiqi about the challenging time.
“Although I didn’t hold any miracles, I hope I was able to bring some sort of comfort to them through my presence and prayers,” the Imam said.
“It obviously was a very frightening experience to have COVID very badly, wasn’t it?” Queen Elizabeth asked.
To which the Imam responded: “I think what made it worse was being by themselves. Exactly. So they were alone, too.”
The Queen tested positive for Covid back in February. At the time, Buckingham Palace revealed that the monarch was experiencing ‘mild cold-like symptoms’.
She has not made a public appearance since the Duke of Edinburgh’s service of thanksgiving at the end of March.
The Queen is no longer planning to attend the annual Maundy Service, wherein she usually performs an ancient tradition of distributing coins to pensioners before Easter. This will be the first time she’ll miss the event since 1970.
Instead, she will be represented by Prince Charles and his wife Camilla. A palace source announced that the queen was unable to commit to attending and did not want her absence to overshadow the occasion, and for those attending to be aware in advance.
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Catch a glimpse of the Queen’s virtual appearance below!
Video Credit: The Royal Family
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