LONDON (REUTERS, AFP) - Britain's Prince Charles has tested positive for Covid-19, his office said on Thursday (Feb 10), the second time that the heir-to-the-throne has contracted the disease.

"This morning The Prince of Wales has tested positive for Covid-19 and is now self-isolating," Mr Clarence House said, adding he had cancelled his planned engagements for later in the day.

Prince Charles, 73,  had been due to unveil a statue in Winchester, southern England, on Thursday but his attendance was cancelled at the last minute, leaving him “deeply disappointed”, Clarence House said.

There was no immediate comment on his condition.

The prince met recently with the Queen, but the 95-year-old monarch is not currently displaying any symptoms, an unnamed royal source told the domestic Press Association news agency.

The Queen, who isolated in her own “bubble” because of her age at Windsor Castle, west of London, when the pandemic struck in early 2020, has had recent health problems that forced her to take a step back from official duties on medical advice.

However, she is once again filling up her diary as a year of celebrations began this week to mark her record-breaking 70 years on the throne.

Prince Charles, who said in December both he and his wife Camilla had received their Covid-19 vaccine booster shots, previously tested positive in March 2020 when he said he had been "lucky" to have suffered only mild symptoms.

He spent seven days in self-isolation at his Birkhall home in Scotland before resuming his duties.

On Wednesday, he attended a reception for the British Asian Trust where pictures showed him chatting to other guests including British finance minister Rishi Sunak. Health minister Sajid Javid and interior minister Priti Patel were also among those who were due to attend.

Prince Charles's son Prince William also contracted Covid-19 shortly after his father in 2020, with media reports saying he had been hit pretty badly by the virus.