Prince Charles says his sense of taste and smell hasn’t fully returned since having coronavirus

Prince of Wales carries out first royal engagement since lockdown meeting with frontline NHS staff

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The Prince of Wales has spoken out about his experience of having Covid-19, stating that his sense of taste and smell has not fully returned.

On Tuesday 16 June, Prince Charles paid a visit to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, where he spoke to staff who have been working on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic.

The visit marked the heir apparent’s first royal engagement since lockdown began.

In March, shortly after nationwide lockdown was established, it was announced that Prince Charles had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Shortly afterwards, it was reported that the 71-year-old had come out of self-isolation and was in “good health”.

Three months later, Prince Charles has revealed that one of the symptoms he experienced when he had Covid-19 was loss of his sense of taste and smell, one of the three main symptoms listed by the NHS.

However, despite recovering from the virus, the royal admitted his sense of taste and smell has not yet fully returned.

Jeff Mills, a 47-year-old healthcare assistant from Cheltenham General Hospital, heard directly from the Prince of Wales about what his experience with the coronavirus was like.

“He did speak of his personal experience, so first-hand experience for him,” Mr Mills said.

“He also spoke about his loss of smell and taste and, sort of, still felt he’s still got it now.”

Loss or changed sense of taste and smell was officially added to the NHS’ list of main coronavirus symptoms in May.

It joined the two other main symptoms on the list – a high fever and a new, continuous cough.

Professor Carl Philpott, director of medical affairs and research at charity Fifth Sense, explained to The Independent that as common colds and viruses often cause initial congestion of the nose, this can lead to “post-viral smell loss”.

“If you look at the tissue in detail under the microscope you see that the fine hair-like endings of the receptor cells have fallen off and therefore the cells are no longer able to pick up odour molecules from the nose,” Professor Philpott says.

The professor added that Covid-19 “appears to have a high concentration in the nose”, stating that anecdotal reports have shown people experiencing the symptom for around seven to 14 days.

During his visit to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, Prince Charles was joined by Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.

The duchess said that she saw her grandchildren for the first time since lockdown last week – “Not hug them, but see them – a great treat.”

When asked whether she believes the country’s appreciation for the NHS has changed for good, Camilla said: “I think it has, you can tell by all the people coming out every week to clap – they’ve done remarkable things.

“The way they’ve looked after people, the way they’ve sort of kept control of the whole thing, you know, it’s a question of not panicking and getting on with it and I thihnk they are Britain at its best.”