Prince Charles Breaks Silence on Dad Prince Philip’s Death

One day after it was announced that Queen Elizabeth II‘s husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, passed away, his son, Prince Charles, released a statement on his death. The official Twitter account for Charles and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, released a video in which the prince could be seen giving a statement to reporters about Philip’s passing. As PEOPLE noted, Charles not only reflected on Philip’s decades of service, but he also spoke about how much he will dearly miss his father.

“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’ message began. He went on to say that he and many others around the Commonwealth are sincerely missing Philip in light of his death. “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.”

The prince said that he believes that his father would be “amazed” by the outpouring of love that has come from all across the world. He ended his message by saying that this fact is of great comfort to himself and his family as they deal with this loss. 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. It will sustain us in this particular loss and at this particularly sad time. Thank you.”

The royal family announced Philip’s passing on Friday. He died at the age of 99 after being the longest-serving consort in British history. The official Twitter account for the royal family released a statement, which said, “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. His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle.”