Queen Elizabeth II came forward for the first time since her husband Prince Philip’s hospitalisation to give an important message to her citizens. The monarch, who received her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine earlier this year, said those who are refusing to get it “ought to think about other people rather than themselves.”

In a recent video call with health leaders, the queen made an unprecedented intervention against anti-vaxxers and noted that “it didn’t hurt at all” when she received the jab. The 94-year-old and her 99-year-old husband were among the first ones to receive the jab as they fall in the highest priority group for the vaccination due to their age.

“Well once you’ve had the vaccine, you have a feeling of, you know, you’re protected which is I think very important. As far as I can make out it was quite harmless. It was very quick. I’ve had lots of letters from people who were very surprised at how easy it was to get the vaccine. And the jab didn’t hurt at all,” she said.

“We hope everyone who is offered the vaccine will take it up because it is all of our best chances to protect both the people who take up the vaccine, their families, and their communities,” the mother-of-four added.

More than 18 million citizens in the UK have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine till now. The Queen credited the NHS for the achievement adding “it is remarkable how quickly the whole thing has been done and so many people have had the vaccine already.”

Apart from the Queen, other senior royals including Prince Charles and Prince William have also been conducting video calls and in-person engagements to support the NHS and help with rolling out the vaccine. Sophie Wessex, the youngest daughter-in-law of the Queen, recently began volunteering at St John Ambulance and the NHS at a vaccination centre in Greater London as part of the family’s wider support for the coronavirus vaccine rollout.