Monaco’s Prince Albert is addressing rumors that he may have caused Prince Charles‘ positive coronavirus diagnosis.
Speaking to RTL radio on Thursday, the 62-year old prince, who also tested positive for cornavirus, spoke about the speculation in the British and French press that one of the royals may have caused the other to come down with the virus following a London meeting they attended earlier this month.
Both royals were in attendance at the Water Aid event on March 10, Albert told interviewer Stephane Bern. “I was at a roundtable for his foundation, but we never shook hands. I was at the other end of the table, way far away,” he said.
“We nodded hello to one another, so I don’t think I can really be accused of contaminating him,” he added with a laugh.
“There were a lot of other people around at the congress center and I know he continued his schedule afterwards for a number of days,” Albert continued, adding that Britain’s heir to the throne “had a number of other opportunities to catch it.”
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According to sources, Albert first developed signs of the disease after his return from London, which caused him to be tested on Monday, March 16.
Royal sources in London tells PEOPLE that the “cautious estimate” of Charles’s doctors is that he wouldn’t have been contagious before March 13. He last saw his mother Queen Elizabeth, 93, on March 12 — when he carried out an investiture on her behalf at Buckingham Palace.
A spokesperson for Clarence House confirmed Charles’ diagnosis on Wednesday in a statement, saying, “The Prince of Wales has tested positive for Coronavirus. He has been displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual.”
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Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE last week, Albert — who has been extremely involved in organizing Monaco’s defense against the disease, which has ravaged neighboring Italy and France — says where he contracted the virus was unknown.
“It could have been from a number of other people. For weeks now, I’ve tried to be cautious, using hand sanitizers and all that, but you never know,” he said. “I could’ve caught it talking to someone three, even four feet away. And it could have happened at any point in the last 10 days or so. You never know.”
“I could even have caught it when I went to London for Prince Charles‘ Water charity forum. It could have been there,” he added. “You never know.”
The prince, whose wife Princess Charlene and children are at another residence, has been in quarantine at the palace for over a week.
“It’s getting better,” he told Bern. “I no longer have fever. I cough a little still. I hope it’s the end of the tunnel that I’m starting to see.”
According to a statement released on Thursday morning from Monaco’s palace, Albert’s doctors are pleased with his progress and “have no concerns about the development of his state of health.”
“Despite his enforced isolation, Prince Albert continues to work from the office of his private apartments and remains in permanent contact with members of his cabinet, his government as well as with his closest collaborators.”
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