Queen Elizabeth II moves to Windsor Castle early amid coronavirus outbreak

While COVID-19 has taken the world by storm, the British royal family is also taking desperate measures to prevent any further spread of the coronavirus and protect themselves. Meanwhile, 93-year-old monarch Queen Elizabeth II has been confirmed to setting her camp in Windsor Castle amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Recently, the World Health Organization had declared COVID-19, a respiratory illness caused by novel coronavirus, a pandemic. This has forced majority of the countries to lockdown and suspend all the public events. At the same time, citizens are encouraged to practice social-distancing due to the contagious nature of the virus.

According to the Telegraph, Buckingham Palace has confirmed the news. As per the report, the queen will depart from her official London residence for her annual Easter stay at Windsor on Thursday and continue to live there beyond the festival day and until future government advisory is released.

"As a sensible precaution and for practical reasons in the current circumstances, a number of changes are being made to The Queen's diary," read the official statement by the palace "Audiences due to take place this week at Buckingham Palace will go ahead as planned. These include receiving the Prime Minister, the Commanding Officer of HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH and the Bishop of Hereford. Future Audiences will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, in line with the appropriate advice."

The news came after the palace and the royals decided to postpone or cancel several upcoming events. The queen will be staying at the castle with reduced staff, unlike Buckingham palace which houses 775 rooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices, and staff of a few hundred.

The relocation will be made a week earlier than planned as a precautionary measure.

"In consultation with the Medical Household and Government, a number of public events with large numbers of people due to having been attended by the Queen and other members of the Royal Family in the coming months will be cancelled or postponed," the palace aide said.

In addition, investitures and garden parties will be rescheduled on later dates. Earlier, the Chelsea Flower Show by the Royal Horticultural Society was also called off.

Meanwhile, the queen and other members of the royal family are following government advice to prevent and slow down the spread of COVID-19. So far, the UK has 1950 confirmed cases and 71 dead.