The Queen will reportedly receive the COVID-19 vaccine within weeks and make it public afterwards.

Buckingham Palace said it would not comment on The Mail On Sunday story which claimed a public announcement would encourage more people to get the jab.

The monarch, 94, and Prince Philip, 99, will not receive preferential treatment, according to the newspaper.

But because they are both over 80, they will be among the first to be offered the jab.

Dr June Raine, chief executive of the MHRA, which has approved the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine for use in the UK, told the BBC it was the healthcare agency’s goal to “protect every member of the population, Her Majesty of course, as well”.

There are fears that anti-vax campaigners could damage the take-up of the treatment – something the Queen’s endorsement could help to allay.

Buckingham Palace declined to respond, with a spokesman saying: “Medical decisions are personal and this is not something we will comment on.”

Discussions are also said to be under way about Prince Charles and Prince William possibly helping to publicise the programme – described by the NHS’s medical director in England as the “largest scale vaccination campaign in our country’s history”.

Professor Stephen Powis said the beginning of vaccinations on Tuesday “feels like the beginning of the end”, but warned it will be a “marathon, not a sprint”.

A number of celebrities have said they will be seeking out the vaccine.

Dame Esther Rantzen told Sky News she will have the jab “as soon as I am able to”.

She added: “I’m hoping that the people who are a little bit nervous of the vaccine will bear in mind that vaccination has saved millions upon millions of lives, and we hope that this vaccine is going to carry on saving lives all round the world.”

Regarding those concerned about being immunised, Dame Esther said people had the right to make a choice.

But she said they should do so based on the “best possible evidence, not on a rumour, not on a smear campaign, but actually on the facts, as we know them, from the medical experts”.

The MHRA has said it approved the jab without compromising safety.

Live Aid organiser Sir Bob Geldof, 69, told the Sunday Mirror he would “take it as soon as humanly possible”.

Former Sky News presenter Eamonn Holmes, 61, said he would “definitely” be immunised.

“Life is for living, not wasting,” the TV star added.

Others committing themselves to the COVID-19 immunisation programme reportedly include Roger Daltrey from The Who, Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, Monty Python’s Michael Palin and actress Dame Maureen Lipman.

“There is no alternative so you have to have it, and I will be,” Dame Maureen said.

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