Princess Anne and Prince Edward paid heartfelt tribute to late father Prince Philip in interviews broadcast Friday after his death – with Princess Anne stating that life will be completely different without him.
“Having someone to confide in you and smile at things you might not be able to do in public – to be able to share that is hugely important,” added Prince Edward, 57, of their father in conversations with ITV.
In the pre-recorded segments, scheduled to air after the death of the royal patriarch, Princess Anne, 70, reflected on her father’s life as a young man and his legacy.
“Without him, life will be completely different,” she said. “But from the perspective of society, he was able to keep up with the kinds of technological changes that are having such an impact … but above all that it’s not about the technology, it’s about the people.”
Edward praised his father’s unwavering devotion to their mother, Queen Elizabeth II, 94.
“My parents have been so wonderfully supportive all these years and all those events and all those trips and events abroad,” he said.
Prince Philip, known as the Duke of Edinburgh, “ passed away peacefully ” Friday morning at the age of 99, the royal family said. He had been married to the Queen for 73 years.
Princess Anne also spoke about his ‘nomadic’ upbringing, along with the struggles he grew up with with parents who had mental health issues.
“He was basically a refugee like this stage because he had nowhere else to go,” she said of her father.
He eventually went to Gordonstoun School in Moray, Scotland, which had a positive “impact” on him when he was young, the princess said.
But Prince Philip believed the most important lessons came outside of the classroom, she said.
He believed there were things outside [of school] that were needed to help you develop as an individual, what played into your strengths, and if that wasn’t academic there were other things that would be your strengths, ”she said.
Prince Edward also praised his father for launching The Duke of Edinburgh Award, a youth program he founded in 1956.
“My dad involved Lord Hunt in helping shape how it would be rolled out, and of course that was one of his geniuses, which was to find the right people to tackle things and shape them,” he said.
Prince Philip will reportedly be buried in Windsor Castle ahead of his burial in St. George’s Chapel later this month.