In the hours after Prince Philip’s death was announced on Friday, Prince Charles was seen leaving Windsor Castle in a silver Tesla, and later the Daily Mail reported that the heir to the throne was with his father when he died. Later that evening, previously recorded interviews with Charles and his siblings, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward, aired as a part of the BBC’s special coverage, but it wasn’t until Saturday that Charles broke the family’s silence with a message filmed from the steps of Highgrove House, his country home in Gloucestershire.
“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,” he said. “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.”
On Sunday, Andrew went to a church service at the Chapel of All Saints near his house in Windsor. The press congregated around the church, and Andrew used the opportunity to make his first public statements since his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and the controversy over a BBC interview led him to step down from his role as a senior royal.
Andrew is very close to Queen Elizabeth, and his statements gave the most insight into her feelings after losing her husband of 73 years. “I feel very sorry and supportive of my mother, who’s feeling it, I think, probably more than everyone else,” he said. “The Queen, as you’d expect, is an incredibly stoic person. She described his passing as a miracle. She’s contemplating, I think is the way that I would put it. She described it as having left a huge void in her life, but we, the family, the ones that are close to her, are rallying around to make sure we are there to support her.”
A source who spoke to the Daily Mail elaborated on the relationship between Andrew and the queen. “Despite the fact he’s, to all intents and purposes, finished as a working royal, he’s still extremely close to the Queen. He talks to her almost on a daily basis,” the source said. “He will be extremely supportive to her in the coming days, weeks and months. He’s still her favourite son, despite all the problems. He will be right there for her at this darkest hour.”
The source added that Andrew is still hoping that he’ll be able to improve his reputation and return to royal duties. “He still harbors thoughts that he can make a comeback. He genuinely thinks that’s possible,” the source said. “He still does believe in his heart of hearts that he can return and that time will be a healer. He thinks he will be able to resume royal duties at some point and save his reputation.”
A senior royal courtier told the Mail that a comeback is unlikely. “Prince Andrew might hope that this sad situation changes things, but Prince Charles is adamant there is no way back while allegations hang over him,” the courtier said. “He spoke on camera in a private capacity because this is a family event. No one can stop him doing that.”
Over the course of the weekend, the rest of Philip’s children spoke out. On Saturday, Edward and his wife, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, were captured on camera as they left Windsor Castle after visiting with the queen. “The queen has been amazing,” Sophie said to a correspondent for Sky News.
Princess Anne released a statement to the royal family’s Instagram account, along with a photo that shows her laughing with Philip at the 2012 Olympics in London.
“You know it’s going to happen but you are never really ready,” she wrote. “My father has been my teacher, my supporter and my critic, but mostly it is his example of a life well lived and service freely given that I most wanted to emulate.”
Sophie, Edward, and their 17-year-old daughter Lady Louise Windsor joined Andrew on the Sunday trip to church, making it the first royal family gathering after Philip’s death. “It’s been a bit of a shock. However much one tries to prepare oneself for something like this it’s still a dreadful shock,” Edward said. “And we’re still trying to come to terms with that. And it’s very, very sad.”
Sophie shared a few details about her father-in-law’s final moments. “It was right for him and it was so gentle, it was just like someone took him by the hand and off he went. It was very, very peaceful and that’s all you want for somebody, isn’t it?” she said. “I think it is so much easier for the person that goes than the people who are left behind. We are all sitting here, looking at each other, going ‘this is awful.’” She pointed out the good condition of the church’s lawn and made a joke, according to ITV. Pointing to the sky, she said, “Well we know if [the staff] had not done such a great job, there is one person who would have noticed!”
On Sunday, the queen reportedly attended church services at her private chapel in Windsor Castle. According to the BBC, Philip’s coffin is lying in rest at the chapel until Saturday, where a procession will bring it to St. George’s Chapel for his funeral.
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