Charles pays tribute to ‘dear papa’ – Prince Philip latest

Prince Charles has paid a moving tribute to his father, Prince Philip, for his “remarkable, devoted service to the Queen”.

“As you can imagine, my family and I miss my father enormously,” he told reporters outside his Gloucestershire estate, Highgrove.

Describing the Duke of Edinburgh as a “much-loved and appreciated figure,” he said he could imagine that his father “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,” he said. “It will sustain us in this particular loss and at this particularly sad time.”

Meanwhile, 10 Downing Street has said Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not attend Prince Philip’s funeral service in order to make room for family members amid tight coronavirus rules restricting attendance to 30 people.

The service is expected to be a generally pared back affair due to Covid-19 restrictions.