THE Queen and Prince Philip have received their first coronavirus vaccine doses, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.

In an unusual move, the Palace, which rarely comments on the private health matters of the monarch and duke, announced that the 94-year-old head of state and her consort, 99, had been given the injection.

It is understood The Queen decided the information should be made public to prevent inaccuracies and further speculation.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have today received Covid-19 vaccinations.”

A royal source confirmed the injections were administered by a household doctor at Windsor Castle.

The Queen and Philip have been spending lockdown at Windsor Castle and remained there for a quiet Christmas after deciding to forgo the traditional royal family gathering at Sandringham.

It is not known which vaccine the Queen and duke were given, but it is likely they will receive their second dose up to 12 weeks later.

It is hoped that by making the Queen and duke’s vaccinations known, members of the public will be more confident in receiving the vaccine themselves.

The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge both contracted coronavirus during the first wave of the pandemic.

Charles was described as having mild symptoms and lost his sense of taste and smell for a period, while it was reported that William was hit ‘pretty hard’ by the virus.

On a visit to a vaccination centre at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital before Christmas, Charles said he is ‘way down the list’ for an inoculation.

Nearly 1.5 million people in the UK have already been vaccinated with either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine, with the Government aiming to jab 15 million of those most at risk by mid-February.