How centuries of pandemics have shaped the British monarchy

Prince Charles' positive coronavirus diagnosis joins a long list of deadly diseases to afflict the royals, including the plague, smallpox, and the flu.

Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, has tested positive for COVID-19. His office announced this week that the Prince of Wales has mild symptoms and is currently self-isolating at his home on the royal Balmoral estate in Scotland along with his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, who tested negative for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Though Prince Charles is the first member of the British royal family to have tested positive in this outbreak, he’s far from the first royal to suffer during a pandemic. From the Black Death in the 14th century to Spanish Flu in the 20th, deadly diseases do not discriminate. Members of the British royal family have both succumbed and survived through

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