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Prince Charles pays tribute to his father Prince Philip in an emotional video

Photo credit: Getty Images - Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images - Getty Images

Prince Charles has paid a moving tribute to his father, Prince Philip, on behalf of the whole royal family in a heartfelt speech. The Duke of Edinburgh sadly passed away at the age of 99 on Friday, with Buckingham Palace announcing the news in a statement referring to him as the Queen's "beloved" husband.

In the emotional video, posted to the Clarence House Instagram account (the main residence of Prince Charles and Camilla), The Prince of Wales remembered his "dear Papa", who he called "a very special person".

The full speech can be read here:

"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."

Charles had already previously paid tribute to his father in a poignant interview alongside his three siblings, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.

Speaking to the BBC, Charles said of his father, "I think he'd probably want to be remembered as an individual in his own right, really."

"His energy was astonishing, in supporting my mama, and doing it for such a long time, and in some extraordinary way being able to go on doing it for so long. What he's done has amounted to an astonishing achievement, I think," he added.

Prince Charles continued to describe his father's character, saying that The Duke of Edinburgh "did not suffer fools gladly", which "made one choose your words carefully".

Speaking about his father's difficult childhood after being exiled from Greece, Prince Charles added, "It can't have been easy and life was uncertain and everyone had to rely on other people to help - and presumably he had to fall back on himself."

Photo credit: Mark Cuthbert - Getty Images
Photo credit: Mark Cuthbert - Getty Images

During Philip's recent stay in hospital, where he underwent a procedure on his heart and sought treatment for an infection, eldest son Charles made a 200-mile round trip to check in on his father and stayed talking with him for around half an hour. Following the Duke's discharge, Charles said he was "thrilled" that his father had returned home.

Prince Charles spoke alongside his siblings Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward as part of a BBC special programme marking the Duke of Edinburgh's death, including tributes "from those who knew him best".

Princess Anne said in a moving tribute to her father, "I think I will best remember him as always being there. And a person you could bounce off ideas, but if you were having problems you could always go to him and know that he would listen and try to help."

Photo credit: AFP - Getty Images
Photo credit: AFP - Getty Images

Meanwhile, Prince Andrew reflected on family life as a child with Prince Philip, saying, "Like any other family at the time, your parents went out to work during the day but in the evening - just the same as any other family - we would get together, we would sit on the sofa as a group and he would read to us."

The Duke of Edinburgh's youngest son, Prince Edward, added, "My father was always a great source of support and encouragement, and guidance all the way through, and never trying to curtail any of the activities or anything that we wanted to try and do but always encourage that. I will always remember and thank him for that."

Our thoughts are with Prince Charles and the entire royal family during this very sad time.

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