“You know it’s going to happen, but you’re never really ready,” Princess Anne said in an emotional statement about her father’s death.
AP photo, file
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip and their children at Buckingham Palace in 1972
The four children of Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II shared touching tributes to their father this weekend following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh.
“You know it’s going to happen, but you’re never really ready,” the couple’s second eldest and only daughter, Princess Anne, said in a statement. “My father was my teacher, my supporter and critic, but mostly it’s his example of a life lived well and served freely, as I most wanted to emulate.”
The Duke, the longest-serving royal partner in British history, died “peacefully” at the age of 99 on Friday, the royal family said. His death came a few weeks after he was discharged from the hospital, where he received treatment for an infection and surgery for an existing heart condition.
“I want to emphasize how much the family appreciates the messages and memories of so many people whose lives he also touched,” Anne said. “We will miss him, but he leaves a legacy that can inspire us all.”
Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and Edward’s wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, spoke to the British press on Sunday after attending church at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor.
Santiago Lyon / AP
Prince Philip with his four children in 2002.
Andrew, the third of the couple’s four children, said the duke’s death not only brought home our loss, but also the loss of those whose loved ones died during the coronavirus pandemic.
“He was a remarkable man,” Andrew said. “We almost lost the grandfather of the country. And I feel very sorry and support my mother who feels this, I think probably more than anyone.”
Andrew, who after the investigation into his ties with Jeffrey Epstein withdrew from public royal duties, said the queen described the loss of her husband of more than 70 years as “leaving a big void in her life”
“We almost lost the grandfather of the nation.” Prince Andrew describes the Duke of Edinburgh as a ‘remarkable man’ and says his death left ‘great void’ for the queen https://t.co/SyGxs5x8Sm
Edward, the youngest of four, said of his father’s death: “How much one tries to prepare oneself is still a terrible shock.”
Prince Charles shared his sentiments in a public speech on Saturday, describe his father as “a very special person, who I think would have been more than anything surprised at the reaction and the moving things that were said about him.”
“We are very grateful to my family for that,” Charles said. “It will support us in this particular loss and in this particularly sad time.”
Buckingham Palace officials announced on Saturday that the prince’s funeral will be held in a small ceremony in St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle will take place.
Prince Harry is flying to the UK to attend the funeral, but his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, will remain in the US because she is in the late stages of pregnancy.