The Duke of York has said the Queen has described the death of her husband the Duke of Edinburgh as “having left a huge void in her life”.
The Duke of York said: “The Queen as you would expect is an incredibly stoic person. She described his passing as a miracle and she’s contemplating, I think is the way that I would put it.
“She described it as having left a huge void in her life but we, the family, the ones that are close, are rallying round to make sure that we’re there to support her.”
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He added: “It’s a terrible loss. My father said to me on the telephone a few months ago, ‘We are all in the same boat and we must always remember that, but occasionally we, the family, are asked to stand up and show compassion and leadership’.
“And unfortunately, with my father’s death, it has brought it home to me, not just our loss, but actually the loss that everybody else has felt, for so many people who have died and lost loved ones during the pandemic.
“And so, we are all in the same boat – slightly different circumstances because he didn’t die from Covid, but we’re all feeling a great sense of loss.”
The Duke of York added that the royal family was grateful for all the “absolutely amazing tributes” to the duke.
Andrew, who stepped down from royal duties over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2019, said of Philip: “He was a remarkable man.
“I loved him as a father. He was so calm. If you had a problem, he would think about it.
“That’s the great thing that I always think about, that he was always somebody you could go to and he would always listen so it’s a great loss.
“We’ve lost almost the grandfather of the nation. And I feel very sorry and supportive of my mother who’s feeling it probably more than everybody else.
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“I know there is a huge amount of support not just for her (the Queen) but for everybody as we go through this enormous change.”
Andrew, who was joined at the Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge, Windsor, by the Earl and Countess of Wessex and their daughter Lady Louise Windsor for a Sunday service, said they had joined in prayers at the private chapel ahead of the funeral."
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