Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip given Covid-19 vaccine

UK royals given injection by household doctor at Windsor Castle

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, have received vaccinations against Covid-19. EPA

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, received vaccinations against Covid-19, Buckingham Palace said on Saturday.

Queen Elizabeth is 94 and Prince Philip is 99.

A royal source said the vaccines were administered by a household doctor atWindsor Castle and that the news was made public to counter any speculation.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are among 1.5 million people in the UK to have had at least one dose of a Covid vaccine so far.

Britain, the first country to approve vaccines made by Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca, on Friday approved Moderna's shot, which it hopes to begin administering in the spring.

Frontline medical workers and vulnerable groups, such as people over the age of 80 and care home residents, are first in line for the vaccine.

Britain on Friday reported a record 1,325 deaths over a 24-hour period, bringing the total number of deaths to nearly 80,000, while also registering a high of 68,053 new cases.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip have spent much of the pandemic in isolation at Windsor because of their advanced age, and this year the traditional family Christmas at her Sandringham estate in eastern England was scrapped.