The Queen has revealed Covid left her “very tired and exhausted” after she caught the virus earlier this year.

The monarch, 95, was taking part in a virtual hospital visit when she described her experience to a former virus patient, whose father and brother had died with the illness.

The call to the Royal London Hospital last week marked the official opening of its Queen Elizabeth Unit.

Buckingham Palace said in February that the monarch had coronavirus.

She was said to be suffering “mild cold-like symptoms” at the time.

During her video call to the hospital, the Queen said: “It [Covid] does leave one very tired and exhausted, doesn’t it?”

Speaking to former Covid patient Asef Hussain and his wife Shamina, she added: “This horrible pandemic. It’s not a nice result.”

Mr Hussain was the third member of his family to be admitted to hospital with the virus in December 2020. While he was there, his brother and father died.

After spending seven weeks on a ventilator, he is still recovering and uses a portable oxygen machine.

Mrs Hussain told the Queen that at one point 500 friends and family from across the world were on a Zoom call praying for her husband. The monarch asked the couple: “So you have a large family, or a large influence on people?”

And referring to the restrictions on people visiting loved ones being treated in hospital at the time, the Queen – patron of the hospital – said: “Of course not being able to see your relative was very hard.”

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