A grieving Prince Charles made his first statement on Saturday about the loss of ‘my dear Dad’.
“I especially wanted to say that my father has spent the last 70 years the most striking, dedicated service to the Queen, my family and the country and also the house,” Charles said, speaking to the family as the eldest son. and heir to the throne a day after the death of Prince Philip at the age of 99.
“And as you can imagine, my family and I miss my father terribly,” Charles adds, addressing reporters who camped in front of his home in Gloucestershire.
“He was a much-loved and valued figure,” the statement further elaborated, speaking shortly after Buckingham Palace announced that Philip’s funeral would be held next Saturday, and preceded a national moment of silence.
Prince Harry flies to the UK to attend the ceremony without his wife, Meghan Markle, expecting a baby girl early in the summer.
“Apart from anything else, I can imagine, we are so deeply touched by the number of other people here and elsewhere around the world and the community who share our loss and grief,” he said.
“My dear Dad was a very special person who I think would be amazed at the response and the moving things that were said about him,” Charles said.
“And from that point of view, we, my family, are very grateful for that. It will sustain us in this particular loss and at this particularly sad time. ”
Speaking for the royal family, Charles spared his mother, Queen Elizabeth.
The queen is said to be recovering well – even “doing wonderfully” – given the loss of her 74-year-old husband, her daughter-in-law Sophie, Countess of Wessex, said on Saturday.