Prince Charles breaks his silence on 'dear papa' Prince Philip in heartfelt speech

The Prince of Wales has thanked the public for their heartfelt condolences following the death of his "dear papa".

• Prince Charles made a short televised speech from his Highgrove House home on Saturday following Prince Philip's death
• The future King said the family missed him "enormously" but the public's support has "sustained them"
• It follows royal news that the royal family have asked mourners not to publicly mourn due to covid-19

Prince Charles has broken his silence following the death of his father, The Duke of Edinburgh. 

Prince Philip passed away peacefully aged 99 on Friday morning. And just 24 hours later the Prince of Wales made a short televised speech from his Highgrove House home in tribute to his father - who was loved for his humour.

Prince Charles described his father as a "very special person" and said the family missed him "enormously" following his death.

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He told reporters outside his home in Gloucestershire, "I particularly wanted to say that 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, but also to the whole of the Commonwealth.

"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 would be so deeply touched by the number of other people here and elsewhere around the world and the Commonwealth, who also I think, share our loss and our sorrow.

"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 have been 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. Thank you."

The Duke of Edinburgh’s passing comes just two months before he was set to celebrate his 100th birthday.

But, the Queen's husband had been in poor health in recent weeks and spent a month in hospital after undergoing heart surgery.

The Queen will pause royal duties for eight days of mourning following his death. 

Our thoughts are with the family at this time.