No one’s buying the excuses for Charles ‘jumping the queue’ to get a coronavirus test

Prince Charles


Support us and go ad-free

Prince Charles flouted government lockdown rules and flew to Balmoral on Sunday, seemingly knowing that he was ill. He was tested for coronavirus (Covid-19) by NHS Scotland on Monday, and received his positive result on Tuesday.

Scotland’s chief medical officer, Catherine Calderwood, said that there were “very good reasons” why Charles and Camilla were both tested, even though Charles only has mild symptoms.

Sky News‘s Kay Burley grilled junior health minister Edward Argar, asking him why Charles “jumped the queue”:

No one’s buying it

Argar insisted that Charles “met [the] criteria“. But the public isn’t buying it. Because it seems obvious that Charles’s privilege ensured that he got to ‘jump the queue’:

One rule for the rich, another for the poor

The Canary spoke to a frontline NHS hospital worker who didn’t want to be named. She told us that she’s “appalled” that Charles was tested for coronavirus. She continued:

I have not been tested for it, although a patient has died and many are being treated for the virus in our hospital. I have been told there is not the capacity for staff to be tested. Furthermore, I and my husband, who is over 70, have followed government advice rigidly, whereas the Royals have travelled from their mansion in London to another in Scotland within the last week! Equality!

The public is rightfully disgusted that Charles travelled while ill, potentially spreading the virus to the rural Highlands. He used his privilege to disregard the government’s lockdown rules, fleeing to his holiday home while millions of people are stuck in London.

#notapriority

Charles flew to Balmoral on the same weekend that 36-year-old Kayla Williams died at her home in Peckham. She had severe coronavirus symptoms but was told by a paramedic that she was “not a priority”:

She had three children, and she could have been saved.

Meanwhile, thousands of working-class people are putting their lives on the line, working in hospitals and supermarkets without proper protection. The rich hole up in their holiday homes and corporations are, once again, bailed out. We should all be outraged.

Featured image via Dan Marsh/Flickr

Support us and go ad-free

Get involved

We know everyone is suffering under the Tories - but the Canary is a vital weapon in our fight back, and we need your support

The Canary Workers’ Co-op knows life is hard. The Tories are waging a class war against us we’re all having to fight. But like trade unions and community organising, truly independent working-class media is a vital weapon in our armoury.

The Canary doesn’t have the budget of the corporate media. In fact, our income is over 1,000 times less than the Guardian’s. What we do have is a radical agenda that disrupts power and amplifies marginalised communities. But we can only do this with our readers’ support.

So please, help us continue to spread messages of resistance and hope. Even the smallest donation would mean the world to us.

Support us

Related articles