Prince wants to give people a hug
The Prince of Wales has spoken of missing his family ‘‘terribly’’ during lockdown, saying he has not seen his father, the Duke of Edinburgh, for a ‘‘long time’’ and that he wanted to give people a hug. The Prince, who is at Birkhall in Scotland, lamented that his father would celebrate his 99th birthday without him next week, saying how
‘‘terribly sad’’ it is to be away from family and friends. Saying he has been ‘‘doing the
FaceTime’’, the Prince said he had been missing his grandchildren – Prince George,
Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, and Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, who is now living in
Los Angeles. The Prince has been staying at
Birkhall since contracting a mild version of
Covid-19 in March. He spent two weeks in isolation, separate from the Duchess of
Cornwall. Interviewed via video call by Sky
News for the After The Pandemic series, the Prince was asked about being apart from his family. ‘‘Well it’s terribly sad,’’ he said. ‘‘But fortunately, at least you can speak to them on telephones and occasionally do this sort of thing. But it isn’t the same is it. You really want to give people a hug.’’ Of the Duke of Edinburgh, who celebrates his 99th birthday on June 10 and is at Windsor Castle, he added: ‘‘Well I haven’t seen my father for a long time. He’s going to be 99 next week, so yes, or my grandchildren or anything. I’ve been doing the FaceTime, is all very well but...’’ The Duke has been with the Queen in Windsor since March, in isolation along with a small number of household staff.