Princess Anne and Prince Edward paid a heartfelt tribute to the late father, Prince Philip, in interviews after his death on Friday – Princess Anne saying “life will be completely different” without him.
“Having someone you trust and smiling about things you might not be able to do in public – being able to share this is extremely important,” added Prince Edward, 57, of their father in talks with ITV.
In the pre-recorded segments, which were to be broadcast on the royal patriarch’s death, Princess Anne, 70, reflected on her young father’s life and legacy.
“Without him, life will be completely different,” she said. “But from the perspective of society, it has managed to keep up with the kind of technological changes that have such an impact … but, above all, that it is not about technology, but about people.”
Edward praised his father’s firm commitment to their mother, Queen Elizabeth II, 94.
“My parents have been such a fantastic support for each other all these years and all those events and all those overseas tournaments and events,” he said.
Prince Philip, known as the Duke of Edinburgh, “died in peace” on Friday morning at the age of 99, the royal family said. He had been married to the queen for 73 years.
Princess Anne also spoke about her “nomadic” upbringing, along with the struggles she faced growing up with parents with mental health problems.
“She was practically a refugee at this stage, because she literally had nowhere to go,” she said of her father.
Eventually, he attended Gordonstoun School in Moray, Scotland, which had a positive “impact” on him in his youth, the princess said.
But Prince Philip believed that the most important learning came from outside the classroom, she said.
“It simply came to our notice then [of school] which were necessary to help you develop as an individual, who played at strengths, and if that weren’t academic, there would be other things that would be your strength, ”she said.
Prince Edward also praised his father for launching The Duke of Edinburgh Award, a youth program he founded in 1956.
“My father involved Lord Hunt in helping to shape the way it will unfold, and he was, of course, one of his geniuses, being able to find the right people to take over and shape things,” he said. .
Prince Philip will be laid to rest at Windsor Castle before his burial in St George’s Chapel later this month.