Prince Philip , the Queen's husband of 73 years, died Friday morning at age 99.Prince Charles is the first of the Queen's children to speak publicly on the death of their father.- He said Philip "would have been amazed" at "the touching things that have been said about him."
The Prince of Wales is the first of the Queen and Prince Philip's four children to make a public statement following the death of their father.
Prince Philip, who was 99, died on Friday morning at Windsor Castle, according to Buckingham Palace.
Prince Charles - the oldest child of the Queen and Prince Philip, and the heir to the British throne - recognized his father's service to the Commonwealth in his statement, which was "on behalf of the
He said: "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," Prince Charles continued.
"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," Prince Charles added.
"It will sustain us in this particular loss and at this particularly sad time. Thank you," he said.
Clarence House also shared a video of the Prince of Wales delivering the statement.
Prince Philip had recently spent a month in the hospital and underwent a procedure for a preexisting heart condition. He returned to Windsor Castle 23 days before he died. Prince Charles was pictured visiting his father while he was hospitalized.
Prince Charles will one day inherit the throne, but his father's death didn't alter the line of succession
According to Buckingham Palace, a royal can make it to the throne two ways: ancestry, and laws put into place by the British government.
Since Prince Charles is the eldest of the Queen and Prince Philip's children, he'll become king if the Queen dies or steps down. But since Prince Philip - who was never made a king - wasn't in line for the throne, his death didn't alter the royal family's line of succession.
After Prince Charles, Prince William is next in line for the throne, as he's the eldest son of Charles and Princess Diana.
Prince George, the first-born son of Prince William and Kate Middleton, follows his dad as the next most likely king.