Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall made a poignant outing to see the public’s tributes to Prince Philip, who died last Friday at the age of 99.
The couple visited the gardens of Marlborough House in London on Thursday to view flowers and messages of condolence that were left by members of the public outside Buckingham Palace for Prince Philip.
As Prince Charles, 72, took in the tributes to his father — including a bench decorated with handmade cards and artwork, a toy Land Rover (the duke’s favorite British-made vehicle) and thousands of bouquets — he appeared emotional. Camilla, 73, also appeared to be wiping away tears.
In a video message released on Saturday, Charles said that he believed his father “would have been amazed” by the outpouring of love and support.
“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,” the eldest child of Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth said. “It will sustain us in this particular loss and at this particularly sad time.”
Prince Philip’s funeral will be held on Saturday at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Duke of Edinburgh will be laid to rest surrounded only by close family members and friends.
“Ironically, it is probably how he would have liked,” former palace spokeswoman Ailsa Anderson tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “No fuss, no bother. Right through his life, he never knew what all the fuss was about.”
Saturday’s service will be known as a ceremonial royal funeral and not a state funeral, which is generally reserved for monarchs. The funeral plans take into account the country’s COVID guidelines and are “much reduced in scale with no public access,” a palace spokesman announced over the weekend.
