The Royal Family have marked their first Father’s Day without Prince Philip with an photo of the Duke, the Queen and her late father King George VI beaming at an infant Prince Charles.
The photo, taken at Balmoral in 1951, shows Charles aged two or three laughing as he sits on a statue of a roe deer overlooking the castle gardens.
Buckingham Palace tweeted: ‘To all dads everywhere, we wish you a very special Father’s Day.’
Prince Charles also shared an old black-and-white picture of him and Prince Philip in his youth, along with snaps of his sons in their teenage years and of Camilla with her late father Bruce Shand, who died in 2006.
He wrote: ‘To all Papas everywhere, and to those who may be missing their Dads today, we are thinking of you and wishing you a special #FathersDay.
Prince William and Kate Middleton shared a short video montage showing their respective dads, Prince Charles and Michael Middleton, and their children, writing: ‘Wishing fathers everywhere a happy Father’s Day’.
The scene in 1951 shows the Queen’s young family a year before her father’s death, with the king appearing to be in good spirits despite his frail appearance.
The trio had spent the last two years living in Malta, where Philip was stationed as as a Royal Navy officer.
Queen Elizabeth has described it as one of the best periods of her life as it was the only time she was able to live ‘normally’.
Prince Philip ended his naval duties on ‘indefinite leave’ in July 1951 as King George’s health deteriorated rapidly with various illnesses worsened by his heavy smoking habit.
The Queen and her husband, then aged 25 and 30, moved home and took on most remaining royal duties after completing a tour of Canada in October.
She acceded to the throne after coronary thrombosis ended her beloved father’s life in 1952.
Last week, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, said Prince Philip’s death has left a ‘giant-sized hole’ in the family’s lives.
Breaking down in tears during an interview with BBC Radio 5, she said restrictions made it difficult for the family to pull together after the loss.
‘Unfortunately the pandemic has slightly slewed things in as much as it’s hard to spend as much time with the Queen than we would like to.’
‘We’re not necessarily doing the things that we would have normally done with him.
‘So I think the whole grieving process is probably likely for us to take a lot longer.’
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