After it was announced that Prince Philip passed away on Friday morning, many have been paying tribute to the late Duke of Edinburgh. The latest to join that group is his son, Prince Charles, who made a statement on behalf of the royal family.
His words were shared in a video on the Clarence House Instagram account. The clip was captioned, "A message from The Prince of Wales. The Prince of Wales pays tribute to The Duke of Edinburgh on behalf of The Royal Family."
The Prince of Wales begins, "I particularly wanted to say that my father, for I suppose the last 70 years, has given the most remarkable, devoted service to the Queen, to my family, and to the country, but also to the whole of the Commonwealth."
"As you can imagine, my family and I miss my father enormously," the heir apparent continues. "He was a much-loved and appreciated figure, and apart from anything else, I can imagine, he would be so deeply touched by the number of other people here and elsewhere around the world and the Commonwealth, who also I think, share our loss and our sorrow."
He closes with, "My dear Papa was a very special person who I think, above all else, would have been amazed by the reaction and the touching things that have been said about him. And from that point of view, we are, my family, deeply grateful for all that. It will sustain us in this particular loss and at this particularly sad time. Thank you."
Prince Philip's funeral service will take place this coming Saturday, April 17, at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. The service will be a private ceremonial funeral, with no public access. The whole family will come together for the royal ceremony, including Prince Harry, who will be flying to the U.K. for the first time in a year. The royal family is accepting messages of condolence with a special form on their official website.
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