The Queen is finally moving to Windsor Castle for the foreseeable future. She’s cancelling garden parties and appearances and the royals’ public schedules have understandably grinded to a halt in this Brave New Coronavirus World. But what of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex? They both arrived in Canada – Vancouver Island, to be exact – last week, before Justin Trudeau issued some stricter travel rules and social distancing/isolation guidelines. Well, a source told Harper’s Bazaar exclusively that Meghan and Harry are taking all of the appropriate precautions:

The Sussexes are ensuring that they’re taking proper precautions to remain safe during the coronavirus pandemic. According to a palace source, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan are following government advice when it comes to navigating life while combating the virus. Both royals are currently back in Canada after completing their final round of royal engagements in England last week.

“[The Sussexes are] taking the appropriate measure of heeding government advice. Like everyone, they are taking government advice, and if and when they are specifically made aware of being in contact with someone who has tested positive, they will act accordingly,” a palace source tells BAZAAR.com. “We are not commenting or guiding further on private medical details.”

[From Harper’s Bazaar]

The reason why people think Harry (in particular) may have been exposed is because he did that event with Lewis Hamilton about a week and a half ago, and Lewis Hamilton had been around Idris Elba and Sophie Trudeau around the same time. Both Sophie and Idris tested positive for the virus. It honestly wouldn’t surprise me if both Harry and Meghan had been exposed to the virus during their stay in the UK – I have believed for weeks now that more people have been exposed than we even know, and that many people (if properly tested) would likely test positive for the virus but be mostly asymptomatic. Anyway, the Daily Mail did a piece about How Dare Meghan Take The Coronavirus Seriously.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are self-isolating in Canada, as Meghan confides in friends that Harry feels ‘helpless’ and is ‘concerned’ about the Queen and his father Prince Charles catching coronavirus, a close friend exclusively told DailyMail.com.

‘Meghan said they are grateful, especially Harry, that they could spend time with his family before all this insanity began,’ the insider explained. ‘Meghan said [Harry] has been in contact with both his father and grandmother. He urged them to stay safe and to take extra precautions.’

The Duchess of Sussex is also taking steps to protect her family, requiring ‘everyone on their team, the people who buy groceries and run errands, to wear latex gloves at all times and are to follow a strict hygiene protocol’, the source said. ‘Only a select few will be able to interact with her, Harry and Archie. She said she’s keeping it to a bare minimum,’ the friend added.

But while holed up at their Vancouver Island waterfront mansion, Meghan and Harry are working with experts on how to best serve the public during this time, believing the pandemic is also a mental health crisis and feel ‘compelled to help’. The friend added: ‘Meghan said just because they are isolating themselves, it doesn’t mean they can’t help. They aren’t just sitting around at home doing nothing. Meghan told her inner circle that what’s happening in the world right now is a mental health crisis. She said they are working with a mental health non-profit to create some sort of online support system for those most vulnerable, like new mothers suffering from postpartum depression. People who lack support systems need reassurance that they are not alone.’

Upon being back in Canada, the close friend said Meghan admitted that Harry ‘feels a bit helpless and isolated out in the middle of nowhere, but is grateful that they are all together as a family.’ The friend also revealed Meghan has concerns about coronavirus but ‘she’s been diligent about not touching her face and washing her hands. She said panicking won’t do any good. It’s just not an option in her household. She doesn’t want Archie picking up on any unnecessary stress and tension. Her home is her sanctuary and it’s a place of peace and calm.’

[From The Daily Mail]

The latex glove detail was added to rile up DM readership, you know. They wanted Meghan to sound like a “mean boss” who dictates surgical-conditions for her home. As for the rest of it… I mean, yes, it just sounds perfectly reasonable. Of course they’re taking precautions and self-isolating.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid.