Prince Charles has paid tribute to his “dear Papa” the Duke of Edinburgh for the first time since his death on Friday.
Speaking from outside his country home Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, Prince Philip‘s eldest child said his father was a “much-loved and appreciated figure”.
“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 and also to the whole of the Commonwealth,” said Charles.
Prince Philip dies – Live reaction from UK and around the world
“And as you can imagine, my family and I miss my father enormously – he was a much-loved and appreciated figure, and apart from anything else, I can imagine he’d be so deeply touched by the number of other people here and elsewhere around the world in the Commonwealth who also, I think, share our loss and our sorrow.
“And 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 are being 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.”
Prince Philip died on Friday aged 99.
Buckingham Palace says a royal ceremonial funeral will take place on 17 April at Windsor Castle – a slimmed-down service amid the COVID-19 pandemic that will be entirely closed to the public.