Coronavirus is a hitman on a streak, committed to wiping off multiple faces from the earth. As the first wave of coronavirus started to wind down and stay low, people were buoyed at the prospect of a world free of the disease. However, the serpent raised its head once again, quickly marking off names from its hitlist.
A slight consolation came in the form of the coronavirus vaccine, distribution of which started at the close of 2020. The vaccine is distributed in order of priority, where people who are at the highest order are to be the first to be immunized. Likewise, healthcare workers, forefront in fighting the virus in hospitals and medical institutes are these second priority. Thus, in keeping with the sequence, many monarchs in Europe have received the vaccination.
The Journey of Vaccination
At the start of the year 2021, Queen Margarethe of Denmark emerged as the first European ruler to get vaccinated for the novel virus. She was followed by Queen Elizabeth in the second week of January.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillips were administered the first dose of the vaccine by an in-house doctor at Windsor Castle. The Queen, aged 94, and the Prince all set to cross the line of a century, were assumed to be at phenomenal risk from coronavirus. The risk seemed ever more real as the heir to the throne, Prince Charles, and the second in line to accession, Prince William, both tested positive for the virus.
The Queen and Prince Phillips thus adhered to strict principles of lockdown, celebrating all the year’s festivities from behind closed doors at Windsor Castle. In fact, there was also no major celebration in honor of Christmas Eve, as the royal family spent the holiday season without mingling with each other and gathering at Sandringham Estate.
Recently, King Harald and Queen Sonja also joined ranks with the sovereigns who have been vaccinated. The couple, both 83 years old, was given the vaccination just one week after Queen Elizabeth. The king’s elder sister, Princess Astrid, received the vaccination alongside her brother and sister-in-law.
King Harald’s Uncertain Health
King Harald has always been considered at high risk from coronavirus. He has been a cancer survivor, conquering the battle in 2004. Then he got operated on for heart surgery in 2005. In 2019, he came against a viral infection that decapitated him from royal obligations. Lastly, he was hospitalized again in December 2020 for breathing difficulties.
All these times, the King failed to govern the country, and his duties were aptly undertaken by Crown Prince Haakon. The Norwegian monarch will receive his second dose of coronavirus virus vaccine three weeks after the first dosage.