Charles reveals he lost sense of taste and smell when he got coronavirus

Not hug them, but see them – a great treat.” The couple chatted to nurses, cleaners, consultants and care workers from a number of NHS trusts at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital in the open air, with everyone respecting social distancing measures by standing two metres apart. “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 think they are Britain at its best.” The Gloucestershire Royal in Gloucester is effectively Charles’s local hospital as it is close to his country home of Highgrove, but he chose to spend much of the lockdown at his Scottish retreat of Birkhall. “He also spoke about his loss of smell and taste and, sort of, still felt he’s still got it now.” With lockdown restrictions being eased, the royal family have chosen this week to take a step towards a return to normality – with a series of face-to-face public engagements. In a lighter moment, the heir to the throne quipped about the arrangement: “I was just thinking we should tell them to fall out, shortly,” while his wife joked: “I feel they’re going to take a salute or something.” After meeting the staff, Charles said: “It’s been a marvellous opportunity just to have a chance of seeing people I know have been doing so much – literally on the front line.