Britain’s Prince Andrew revealed Sunday that Queen Elizabeth II said the death of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and her husband for over 70 years, has left a “huge void” in her life.
Andrew told reporters outside a chapel near Windsor Castle that the royal family is “feeling a great sense of loss,” but called worldwide tributes to his father, who died at 99 last week, “absolutely amazing.”
He called the queen “an incredibly stoic person,” but said “She described it as having left a huge void in her life.”
“We’ve lost almost the grandfather of the nation. And I feel very sorry and supportive of my mother who’s feeling it probably more than everybody else,” Andrew said.
Buckingham Palace announced on Friday that the prince died “peacefully” at Windsor Castle, where he and the queen spent much of the last year during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Philip’s funeral is scheduled for Saturday. Just 30 people will be allowed to attend the memorial due to the pandemic.
Princess Anne, Elizabeth and Philip’s only daughter, on Sunday released a statement honoring her father, calling him “my teacher, my supporter and my critic.”
“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,” she said.
Prince Charles paid tribute to his father on Saturday, sharing that he was a “very special person.”
“I particularly wanted to say that my father over the last 70 years has given the most remarkable devoted service to the queen, to my family and to the country,” he said. “And as you can imagine, my family and I miss my father enormously. He was a much-loved and appreciated figure.”
Andrew has been out of the public eye since 2019 amid controversy over his alleged involvement with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew, a longtime friend of the man who was under investigation at the time of his death for allegedly operating a trafficking ring for underage girls, has been accused by one person of sexual abuse when she was 17. The prince has denied the allegations.