'Thinner and frailer' Queen, 95, is being closely monitored after catching Covid but will speak to PM and hold virtual audiences this week as she continues light duties

 The Queen is being 'carefully monitored' by her staff as they take a 'sensible' approach to her positive Covid test.

The Palace is 'cautious' but not 'alarmed' by her 'mild symptoms' as the triple-jabbed Royal plans 'light duties' this week and to speak to the PM on the phone.

The 95-year-old Monarch still wants to fulfil online audiences and telephone meetings, with only one in-person event likely to be cancelled.

She felt well enough yesterday to pay tribute to Team GB's gold medal in the curling at the Winter Olympics and 'cheered at the tele' as her horse won at Newbury.

But staff will keep a close eye on her as she is 'considerably thinner and frailer' than a year ago and last week said 'I can't move' as she leaned on a walking stick.

Her Majesty will be 'carefully monitored' this week with staff taking a 'sensible' approach after the Palace yesterday said she had tested positive for coronavirus. Pictured: The queen during a virtual meeting with the Ambassador of Jordan Manar Dabbas at Buckingham Palace on Thursday

BBC reporter Daniella Ralph told the Today programme: 'The mood from the Palace is one of caution but no alarm.'

She said: 'There are a couple of obvious aggravating factors here. Firstly that she is 95 years old, almost 96, and that immediately puts her in the vulnerable category.

'Also when you see the Queen now she is considerably thinner and frailer than she was a year ago and of course she will now have to be carefully monitored.'

She added it was possible Her Majesty will get some kind of anti-viral treatment but Buckingham Palace will not confirm it.

The Monarch is experiencing 'mild cold like symptoms' after testing positive for Covid but expects to be at her desk carrying out 'light duties', the Palace said.

Concerns for the Queen will be heightened given her age and recent health scare but she is determined to carry out what tasks she can despite the virus.

She holds an audience with Boris Johnson most Wednesdays, either in person or by telephone, and has recently been holding one or two diplomatic audiences a week with ambassadors by video-link, and is likely to do so this week if well enough.

She is following all Covid self-isolating guidelines after testing positive on Sunday, but her diagnosis comes as Mr Johnson prepares on Monday to bring an end to the legal duty to self-isolate from next week.

The Queen will also be working from her red boxes, sent to her every day and containing policy papers, Foreign Office telegrams, letters and other state papers from Government ministers and Commonwealth representatives that have to be read and, where necessary, approved and signed.

For company, she has her dogs - her elderly dorgi Candy, corgi puppy Muick and another young corgi.

The monarch, if she feels well enough, is also likely to study the Racing Post.

She had a win on Sunday when her horse Kincardine won the Federation Of Bloodstock Agents Maiden Hurdle at Newbury.

She will also be given a digest of the day's news from the early-morning radio and television bulletins, and a selection of papers, with her photo gracing most of the front pages after the announcement that she has Covid.

Royal expert Roya Nikkhah told the Today programme: 'I think the signals that came out of Windsor Castle yesterday which I think were quite deliberate in terms of us being told she had mild symptoms, us being told she was working on that statement, that lovely message to the curling team yesterday morning, was all trying to sort of calm our fears I think.

'And I think the mood music coming from the castle that she expects to carry on with her engagements this week, all but one person which I think she'll cancel, is fingers crossed quite reassuring.

'We've been told by royal sources that there's been a bit of an outbreak.

'There has been a lot of talk about this HMS Bubble around the Queen for a couple of years which has been very successful, but I think long term the Queen understood more than anyone it wasn't tenable to continue.

'It placed a huge demand on pressures on staff who had to isolate and be away from their families for a long time.

'So I think she was very sanguine about that and probably inevitably accepted that she might be at risk at some point, but fingers crossed she'll be well – she's triple-vaxxed – and carry on.

'It has come thick and fast for the Queen in the last few days, weeks and months. She's had a rough old ride from her family, a lot of hassle in the year that should be celebratory but on she ploughs.

'I was delighted to see that she would have probably had a little bit of good news yesterday with a winner at Newbury which will have perked her up no end as she ploughs on with Covid.

The Queen (pictured during an engagement earlier this month) tested positive for coronavirus

Pictured: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles at Balmoral Cricket Pavilion on October 1, 2021

Today programme presenter Nick Robinson said: 'We're told she was cheering at the tele while she was watching.'

Ms Nikkhah added: 'She's had a rough old time of it and on she goes and I think she's a great example to her family.'

Meanwhile royal expert Camilla Tominey told LBC: 'Buckingham Palace is saying that she's suffering from mild, cold-like symptoms - and their statement yesterday very much played it down, said that she would be continuing with light duties.

'And actually a few hours after they released that statement, she sent her warm congratulations to the women and men's curling team over in Beijing.

'It seems as if there is this sense that it's business as usual, and once again she epitomises this keep calm and carry on mentality that's become her trademark.

'They've always been in a form of bubble, she's got her closest aides and they don't really change, and they've been in that kind of pared-down system since March 2020, and the Duke of Edinburgh was enveloped into that.

'So they'll take every precaution - equally, of course, she has access to the best medical care.

'There are some concerns about her mobility as far as her health is concerned.

'It was only on Wednesday that she received a couple of military visitors to Windsor Castle and basically told them she couldn't move and was quite uncomfortable on a walking stick, but again as we all have to reiterate she's 95 and it's easy to take that for granted, but she's got a very busy year ahead with the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

'She isn't invulnerable and care needs to be taken to preserve her health and energy ahead of what is going to be a jam-packed summer.'

The Queen with Rear Admiral James Macleod (right) and Major General Eldon Millar as she met the incoming and outgoing Defence Service Secretaries in person at Windsor on Wednesday

The Queen rides her horse in the grounds of Windsor Castle, three days after the death of her mother, in 2002

The diagnosis follows a string of Covid cases among the royal family and the Queen's Windsor Castle team.

The Prince of Wales met the monarch the week he tested positive and the Duchess of Cornwall was also isolating after contracting the virus.

The shock announcement was made a few weeks after the nation's longest-reigning monarch reached her historic Platinum Jubilee of 70 years on February 6.

Buckingham Palace said in a statement: 'Buckingham Palace confirm that The Queen has today tested positive for Covid.

'Her Majesty is experiencing mild cold-like symptoms but expects to continue light duties at Windsor over the coming week.

'She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines.'

The Royal Household has its own royal physicians and the Queen's doctors will be on hand to take care of and monitor the head of state.

Professor Sir Huw Thomas, head of the Medical Household and Physician to the Queen, is expected to be in charge.

It is understood the Queen is following Covid guidelines on self-isolating after testing positive.

But Boris Johnson is expected to repeal all pandemic regulations that restrict public freedoms in England when he lays out his vision for the future on Monday.

The Queen is believed to be triple vaccinated but until recently had been on doctors' orders to rest since mid October.

She had cancelled a run of engagements and spent a night in hospital undergoing preliminary tests.

Just a few weeks ago, the monarch had begun to resume her normal duties, hosting at Sandringham her largest reception in months, on the eve of her Platinum Jubilee anniversary, and a few days later held her first in-person audience with the Prime Minister in many weeks.

The Queen was pictured smiling as she was driven around her Sandringham Estate this month

She now regularly uses a stick and recently commented about her mobility issues telling two senior military officers during a Windsor Castle reception 'well, as you can see, I can't move,' when asked how she was.

It is likely the Queen will be working from her red boxes, sent to her every day and containing policy papers, Foreign Office telegrams, letters and other State papers from Government ministers and Commonwealth representatives that have to be read and, where necessary, approved and signed.

Earlier the Queen sent a message of congratulations to Team GB women's curling team who became Winter Olympic champions after the men's team won silver, but it is not known if she had tested positive at the time the words were signed off.

She told them: 'I know that your local communities and people throughout the United Kingdom will join me in sending our good wishes to you, your coaches and the friends and family who have supported you in your great success.'

The Queen is believed to have spent time with Charles on Tuesday February 8, when he hosted an investiture at her Windsor Castle home, and a few days later he tested positive for Covid but made a quick recovery to full health.

Camilla has also tested positive for Covid, with Clarence House confirming on Monday February 14 that the duchess was self isolating.

It is the second time the future king has caught the virus, with Charles contracting Covid in March 2020 when he had mild symptoms, lost his sense of smell and taste and isolated at Birkhall on the Balmoral estate.

The Queen, whose husband the Duke of Edinburgh died 10 months ago, spent much of the pandemic in the safety of Windsor Castle, protected in 'HMS Bubble', the nickname given to her reduced household of dedicated staff.

The monarch, who for almost two years avoided contracting Covid, has served as a symbol of national stability during the pandemic, delivering two rare televised addresses to the nation weeks apart.

She reassured the country that the virus would be overcome, telling those in isolation: 'We will meet again.'

But, amid the worst public health crisis for generations, she bade a sad farewell to Philip, her companion of 73 years, who died aged 99 in April 2021.

The Queen sat alone at his funeral during Covid restrictions.

Elizabeth II is the first British monarch in history to reach her Platinum Jubilee, and plans are in motion for a host of national festivities in June to mark the occasion.

Her reign has stretched from the post-war years through a new millennium and into a radically altered 21st century.

Her time on the throne has seen 14 prime ministers from the Second World War leader, Sir Winston Churchill, to Boris Johnson.

In her twilight years, she has been setting her affairs in order, using her Jubilee message to endorse her daughter-in-law, the Duchess of Cornwall, once a royal mistress, to be Queen Camilla and crowned at Charles's side when he one day becomes King.

The Queen is the latest monarch from around the world to catch Covid.

Queen Margrethe of Denmark, 82, and Spain's King Felipe VI, 54, both tested positive for the illness on February 9.