A grief-stricken Prince Charles made his first statement on Saturday about the loss of “my dear daddy.”
“Above all, I wanted to say that my father has rendered the most remarkable, devoted service over the past 70 years to the Queen, to my family and the country, as well as to home,” said Charles, speaking on behalf of the family as the oldest son. and heir to the throne a day after Prince Philip’s death at the age of 99.
“And as you can imagine, my family and I miss my father terribly,” Charles added, to reporters who had camped outside his Gloucestershire home.
“He was a much-loved and appreciated figure,” continued the blatant statement, shortly after Buckingham Palace announced that Philip’s funeral would take place next Saturday and will be preceded by a national moment of silence.
Prince Harry will fly to the UK to attend the ceremony without his wife, Meghan Markle, who is expecting a baby daughter in the early summer.
“And apart from everything else, I imagine, we have been so deeply moved by the number of other people here and elsewhere in the world and the commonwealth who share our loss and our grief,” he said.
“My dear daddy was a very special person who I think would have been especially surprised at the reaction and the moving things that have been said about him,” said Charles.
‘And from that point of view, we, my family, are extremely grateful for that. It will support us in this particular loss and in this very sad time. “
By speaking on behalf of the royal family, Charles spared his mother, Queen Elizabeth, from doing so.
The queen would do well – even “doing great” – given the loss of her 74-year-old husband, her daughter-in-law Sophie, Countess of Wessex, said Saturday.