The Queen Got Real About Her COVID Symptoms & She Said It Left Her 'Exhausted'

Queen Elizabeth II offered some rare insight into her battle with COVID-19, when she told a grieving couple at a hospital about her own experience with the virus.

She spoke to several patients at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel via video link last Wednesday, and that's when she seemed to connect with a former patient who lost his dad and brother to COVID.

“It does leave one very tired and exhausted, doesn’t it?" she told the patient, Asef Hussain, and his wife. "This horrible pandemic," she added. "It’s not a nice result."

Hussain told her about his experience after testing positive for COVID-19 in December. He explained how his health deteriorated, and he ended up being put on a ventilator for seven weeks. He then remained with an oxygen tank and in a wheelchair after being discharged from the hospital, reports the New York Post.

"It obviously was a very frightening experience to have COVID very badly, wasn’t it?” she replied, according to the Post.

The Guardian reports that during the visit, the Queen chatted to medical staff, patients and workers who used the hospital facility in the heights of the pandemic.

"Of course, not being able to see your relatives was very hard," she told patients who were isolated because of hte virus.

There has been plenty of interest in the 95-year-old Queen's health in recent months, particularly after she tested positive for COVID-19 in February.

At the time, Buckingham Palace described her symptoms as "mild" and "cold-like." She scaled back several of her public duties during that time, although she did perform "lighter duties" around the palace throughout the weeks while she recovered and received the medical attention required, according to the Washington Post.

She's been using a cane to get around for several months now, and she's been delegating more of her duties to others in 2022.

Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch ever to reign for 70 years in February, and the U.K. is currently ramping up to celebrate that landmark with a Platinum Jubilee weekend in early June.