Prince Charles Becomes Emotional As He Views Public Tributes To Father Prince Philip With Camilla

Apr 16, 2021 by apost team

Prince Philip's death on April 9, 2021, has left the royal family, the United Kingdom and members around the world in deep mourning. In his seven decades of devoted service, the beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather has set an incredible example of what it means to be a support to the crown and his wife and leaves behind an enduring legacy for decades to come. His life will continue to be a beacon of inspiration for many. 

Not long before his death, Queen Elizabeth's beloved husband was discharged from the hospital after spending several days there due to complications with an infection. Philip's infection was reportedly not due to coronavirus, as he and the queen were vaccinated in January of this year, according to BBC.

Philip's passing ends his reign as the longest-serving royal spouse, having served alongside Elizabeth for 65 years and having been married to the monarch for 73 years in total.

The Royal Family has scheduled a funeral which will take place on Saturday, April 17. It is expected to have a limited number of guests due to the current coronavirus pandemic. The grief of his passing has been deep in the United Kingdom, and the country is currently in mourning. 

Since Philip's death, there have been a significant number of tributes and condolences pouring in, and though people were told to refrain from sending flowers to remain safe, a large collection of flowers, trinkets and cards are constantly piling up outside Buckingham Palace. They are now moved to St. James' Palace in London and have visibly moved Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. 

As Charles and Camilla walked through the Malborough House Gardens which are located at St. James’s Palace in London, Vanity Fair reports that Charles couldn't help but become emotional. Thousands of floral tributes, cards and messages of condolences were left at Buckingham Palace by ardent supporters of the royal family even after being told to refrain from doing so. Many of the floral tributes came from international supporters as well. 

The royal couple took their time inspecting the various handwritten condolence letters and cards, an array of bouquets, trinkets and drawings from children commemorating the passing of Philip. Charles became quite overcome at one point when he saw a toy Land Rover that had been left at the site.

The Land Rover is a particularly poignant symbol for Philip, who had loved the vehicle throughout his life. In fact, he spent 18 years modifying a Land Rover into a hearse that would carry his coffin for the funeral procession. The Daily Mirror reported that Philip once told Elizabeth, "Just stick me in the back of a Land Rover and drive me to Windsor," when discussing his funeral and it looks like his long-held wish will surely be realized on his funeral day. 

The tributes were collected from outside Buckingham Palace, where they have been coming every day since Philip's passing. A spokesperson for Clarence House confirmed that on Thursday, 15 April, "the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall visited Marlborough House Gardens to view a selection of flowers left by members of the public in memory of The Duke of Edinburgh." 

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The statement continued, "The flowers and condolence messages have been moved from outside Buckingham Palace and within the Royal Parks to the private gardens at Marlborough House. The Royal Parks will continue to move the flowers during this period of National Mourning. Marlborough House Gardens was chosen so as not to encourage crowds from gathering outside the Royal Palaces due to Covid-19."

Due to the ongoing pandemic, Philip's funeral will be quite small. Under normal circumstances, however, Philip's funeral would have had a massive procession which would be accompanied by public mourning and a funeral with at least 800 members, but coronavirus only complicates the funeral planning and limits the number of guests able to attend. Currently, only 30 guests are permitted to attend the funeral in person and citizens are urged to not gather in public for the funeral procession. 

Vanity Fair reports that Charles will be leading the procession on Saturday, April 17, along with his sons Prince William and Harry. The funeral will be attended by all senior members of the royal family, including Philip's other three children, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, as well as their spouses.

After his father's death, Charles paid a heartfelt tribute to his father, saying,

"...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."

Losing a parent is hard no matter how old you are. Tell us what you think about the beautiful floral tributes sent to Prince Philip, and be sure to let your friends know about the moving gesture by supporters of the royal family.