The Duke of Sussex’s wife Meghan Markle has reportedly told friends that Prince Harry feels “helpless” and is “concerned” about the Queen and Prince Charles catching coronavirus amid the world-wide pandemic, reported the Daily Mail.
“Meghan said they are grateful, especially Harry, that they could spend time with his family before all this insanity began,” the insider was quoted as saying.
As the death toll in the UK from the COVID-19 coronavirus currently stands at 71, with 1,960 confirmed cases of the disease, the Prince is believed to have spoken to his father, Prince Charles, and his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, urging them to "stay safe and take extra precautions."
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their baby son Archie are reportedly self-isolating in their Vancouver Island mansion, with Meghan Markle reportedly instructing staff who buy food and run errands to follow a "strict hygiene protocol" that includes wearing latex gloves "at all times."
The Duchess of Sussex is believed to have reduced the number of people with direct contact to the family to a "select few", according to the source quoted by the outlet.
The couple, who officially step down as senior royals on 31 March, refuse to just sit "around at home doing nothing", claimed the insider, adding:
“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.”
According to the insider, Meghan Markle told her inner circle that the world is witnessing 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,” the insider is quoted by the Daily Mail as saying.
Meghan Markle, according to the outlet, has been urging people that "panicking won't do any good" and doesn't want her son Archie to sense "stress and tension" from either his parents or surrounding staff.
The close friend also cited the Duchess of Sussex as revealing that Prince 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 Duke of Sussex returned to Canada upon wrapping up his final duties as a senior royal last week, just before the country’s PM Justin Trudeau announced the closure of the country's borders to non-North American citizens.
It was earlier reported the couple had accepted an invitation from the Queen to join her for a holiday at Balmoral in summer, with the current coronavirus pandemic possibly jeopardising these plans.
There has been no comment from Buckingham Palace.
Previous reports suggested that 93-year-old Queen Elizabeth II had left Buckingham Palace as the situation around the coronavirus worsened in the country.
There are plans, reported The Sun, to quarantine the monarch and Prince Philip, 98, at Sandringham if the outbreak worsens.
