Prince Charles pays tribute to 'dear Papa' Prince Philip in moving speech

Prince Charles has paid tribute to his "dear Papa" following the Duke of Edinburgh's death on Friday.

Heir to the throne, Charles, the son of Queen Elizabeth II and the late Prince Philip, broke his silence about the passing of his father during an address to the media outside his Highgrove home in Gloucestershire, England, on Saturday afternoon.

"I particularly wanted to say that my father, for I suppose the last 70 years, has given the most remarkable, devoted service to The Queen, to my family and to the country, but also to the whole of the Commonwealth," he began. "As you can imagine, my family and I miss my father enormously.

"He was a much loved and appreciated figure and apart from anything else, I can imagine, he would be so deeply touched by the number of other people here and elsewhere around the world and the Commonwealth, who also I think, share our loss and our sorrow.

"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."

Charles' speech came just after it was confirmed Prince Philip's funeral will be held on 17 April at St George's Chapel in Windsor.

Prince Philip's coffin will be moved to St George's Chapel on the day of the service and members of the royal family - including Prince Charles - will walk behind the coffin.

The Queen will travel separately to the chapel and after the service, Prince Philip will be interred in the Royal vault.

Philip's grandson, the Duke of Sussex, who relocated to California last year, is set to fly into the U.K. to attend the ceremony, where he'll be reunited with other members of his family. However, his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex - who is expecting her second child later this year - will remain in the U.S. on medical advice.