A visibly affected Prince of Wales appeared on British television on Monday to deliver a powerful tribute to his “darling grandmother” in a videotaped address. At one point moved nearly to tears, Charles expressed the royal family’s sorrow in a personal and unscripted commentary that revealed the many sides of the royal matriarch he “adored”.
“In many ways I think she had become an institution in her own right,” said the Prince, seated in front of an informal backdrop of family photos and flowers at his Highgrove home. “At once indomitable, somehow timeless, able to span the generations.
“Wise, loving, with an utterly irresistible mischievousness of spirit, an immensely strong character combined with a unique natural grace, and an infectious optimism about life itself.”
“Above all, though,” he continued, “she understood the British character… Her heart belonged to this ancient old land and its equally indomitable and humorous inhabitants, whom she served with panache, style and unswerving dignity for very nearly 80 years.”
Dressed in a dark pinstriped suit and tie, the Prince reminisced how the 101-year-old was costantly a “stalwart and sensitive” support to the Queen and how her home was always filled with an atmosphere of fun, laughter and affection.
A grandson in mourning, Charles candidly told of his personal loss, revealing he had been dreading the moment the ageing Queen Mother would pass away. “Somehow I never thought it would come,” he said. “She seemed gloriously unstoppable, and ever since I was a child I adored her.”
“She saw the funny side of life, and we laughed until we cried,” he said, his voice choking with emotion. “Oh, how I shall miss those laughs… She was quite simply the most magical grandmother you could possibly have and I was utterly devoted to her.”
“To me,” he said, “she meant everything.”
Charles brought the four-minute speech to a close with a touching final tribute to her memory. “Her departure has left an irreplaceable chasm in countless lives,” he said. “But, thank God, we are all the richer for the sheer joy of her presence and everything she stood for.”
Photo: © Alphapress.com
