The monarch, 94, was instead kept safe through strict COVID-19 restrictions, travelling separately to grandson Prince William.

The royals opened a new Energetic Analytics Centre at U.K. chemical weapons lab Porton Down, where 48 people she came into contact with were tested for coronavirus in advance.

Normal two meter social distancing requirements were also in place as Elizabeth and Prince William met scientists who identified the Novichok attack on ex-Russian spy Sergie Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March 2018.

Elizabeth travelled by helicopter from Windsor Castle where she has been staying since returning from her summer break.

Prince William travelled separately by car from Kensington Palace ahead of touring the laboratory, near Salisbury.

A Buckingham Palace source told Newsweek: “They were travelling from different destinations.

“Everything followed the advice.”

The monarch wore a pink Stewart Parvin cashmere coat with a matching hat by Rachel Trevor Morgan, the Daily Express reported.

The Sun reported how the queen unveiled a plaque at the new centre, asking: “What are you going to do with it?”

Chief executive Gary Aitkenhead replied “display it with pride” while Elizabeth joked in typically dry fashion: “Well, it proves we’ve been here, doesn’t it.”

William presented the Firmin Sword of Peace to 102 Logistic Brigade, who helped during the clean up after the attack, blamed by the British government on Russian agents.

Skripal and his daughter were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury, south west England, but the use of a nerve agent in the attack was only announced days later.

Britain faced a race against time to decontaminate the area of the deadly poison, which was found in multiple locations.

Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey was also poisoned after visiting Skripal’s home but survived.

Mother-of-three Dawn Sturgess died after her partner Charlie Rowley found a fake perfume bottle used to spray Novichok on Skripal’s front door.

Both came into contact with the nerve agent, though Rowley survived.

In the aftermath of the attack, then Prime Minister Theresa May told Britain’s House of Commons: “Three weeks ago, the Russian Federation was responsible for an attempted murder here in our country.

“This was not only a crime against Sergei and Yulia Skripal.

“It was an indiscriminate and reckless act against the United Kingdom, putting the lives of innocent civilians at risk.

“It was an assault on our fundamental values and the rules-based international system that upholds them.”