Prince Philip, the 99 year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth, tragically passed away on Friday morning at Windsor Castle. Now, his 70 year-old daughter Princess Anne is speaking out to pay tribute to him.
“You know it’s going to happen but you are never really ready,” Anne said in a statement, according to Entertainment Tonight. “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.”
“His ability to treat every person as an individual in their own right with their own skills comes through all the organisations with which he was involved. I regard it as an honour and a privilege to have been asked to follow in his footsteps and it has been a pleasure to have kept him in touch with their activities,” she added. “I know how much he meant to them, in the U.K., across the Commonwealth and in the wider world.”
Anne ended her statement by thanking people all over the world for their support.
“I would like to emphasise how much the family appreciate the messages and memories of so many people whose lives he also touched,” she said. “We will miss him but he leaves a legacy which can inspire us all.”
This comes after Anne’s older brother Prince Charles spoke out to pay tribute to his “dear papa.”
“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,” Charles said in a video message, according to People Magazine.
“As you can imagine, my family and I miss my father enormously,” Charles added. “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.”
Philip’s death was announced by Buckingham Palace on Friday.
“It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,” the palace’s statement read. “His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.”
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