Prince Charles And Duchess Camilla Share Heartbreaking Personal Photographs Of Their Late Dads On Father's Day

Jun 21, 2021 by apost team

Across the world, people celebrated Father's Day on June 20, 2021, including members of the royal family. This is a difficult year for the royals, as the death of Prince Philip left the family and the country in mourning for a few weeks. While the senior member of the royal family have once again resumed work, the loss of Philip will be felt for a long time. 

Prince Charles took to social media to share a post for Father's Day. This is sure to be a difficult day for him as well after losing his father in April 2021. In his social media post, Duchess Camilla's father, the late Bruce Shand, was also included. 

Philip lived an incredibly full life until he died at the age of 99 earlier this year. Not only was his life an extraordinary one, but his marriage was too —Queen Elizabeth and Philip celebrated 73 years of marriage together, officially making theirs the longest royal marriage on record. Always by each other’s side, the couple endured a lot in their over seven-decade-long relationship. They remain a beacon of inspiration for people around the world.

Elizabeth also shared a rare photo of her father, George VI, as well as the late Duke of Edinburgh for Father's Day this year, which has made many people on the internet emotional. Elizabeth was known to be remarkably close to her father growing up, and no matter how old you become, a person never forgets the pain of losing a parent. 

It is certainly poignant that the late Philip was remembered so fondly by Charles on Father's Day.

2021 marked the first year that Elizabeth and Charles celebrated Father's Day without Prince Philip. Philip died peacefully at age 99 according to an April 9 Buckingham Palace announcement. Having been married to Elizabeth for more than 70 years, he was the longest-serving spouse of any British monarch. The Duke of Edinburgh left behind his wife of 73 years, as well as their four children Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.

Philip's death left the royal family in deep mourning, and photos from the funeral show a very grief-stricken Charles holding back tears during the procession and after the service. Charles paid tribute to his late father with his own Twitter and Instagram post, which read, "To all Papas everywhere, and to those who may be missing their Dads today, we are thinking of you and wishing you a special #FathersDay."

The post featured four photographs; the first showed a young Prince Charles with Philip in a black-and-white portrait, the second photo showed Charles with his own sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, at a polo match, and the remaining two photographs Duchess Camilla and her father, Bruce Shand. 

Bruce was a celebrated, dedicated and well-known officer in the British Army according to Good Housekeeping. However, for a long time, he was not a fan of Charles as a partner for his daughter, especially following the scandalous way their relationship was exposed in the public. However, as time went by, he saw that Charles made his daughter happy and remarked that Charles "came across as very fair-minded and sincere." He even said later that he had "no doubt that he [Charles] will make a perfect king."

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Another relationship in Charles's life has been tumultuous recently, but there is less clarity as to whether the relationship can be mended. The ongoing feud between Harry and his family had many people on the internet commenting on the fact that Charles still chose to share a picture of Harry on social media. The controversial Oprah Winfrey interview that Harry and Meghan Markle took part in caused a major blow in the relationship between Harry and the rest of his family. This was followed by other interviews in which Harry criticized the royal family and culture, and has further exacerbated the painful rift. 

The entire family is set to reunite once more this year when Princess Diana's statue will be unveiled on July 1, 2021. Royal commentator and founder of True Royalty TV Nick Bullen told Us Weekly that Harry and Meghan's newborn daughter Lilibet Diana could bring the royal family closer after the difficult year they have had. Lilibet was born on June 4, 2021, and the royal family was "delighted" by her birth. 

Bullen told the magazine, "The birth of a baby is always a great unifier for a family and I’m sure all sides of the Sussex family will want to celebrate with Harry and Meghan. I think you can be absolutely certain that Harry and Meghan will be jumping on a Zoom call to introduce Her Majesty to her 11th great-grandchild."

Elizabeth was in fact the first person that Harry and Meghan called after Lilibet's birth! We may only know in the future if Lilibet will be the unifier for the royal family that can heal the inflamed rift between Harry and the rest of his family in the UK.  

What do you think of the beautiful photos shared by Charles and Camilla for Father's Day? Did you celebrate Father's Day this year? Tell us about it, and be sure to pass this on to others as well.