Xi sends condolences over death of UK's Prince Philip

BEIJING－Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, on Saturday sent a message of condolences to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and her family over the passing of Prince Philip.

The death of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, at the age of 99, was announced by Buckingham Palace on Friday.

Prince Charles offered a heartfelt tribute to his "dear Papa" on Saturday, as Buckingham Palace offered the broad outlines of a royal funeral that will be attended by the family and broadcast to the world.

As Queen Elizabeth II and other relatives mourned, Charles offered a deeply personal video message saying the royal family was "deeply grateful" for the outpouring of support it has received, the heir to the throne said he was touched by the number of people around the world who had shared his family's loss and 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," Charles said, speaking from his home of Highgrove in southwestern England.

"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."

Philip's royal ceremonial funeral will take place on Saturday at Windsor Castle, a slimmed-down service amid the COVID-19 pandemic that will be entirely closed to the public.

The palace insisted the royals would strictly adhere to national virus guidelines, measures that in theory would entail mask wearing in an enclosed space and social distancing. The palace declined to comment on details.

Prince Philip married his third cousin, the future Queen Elizabeth II, at Westminster Abbey in 1947, and he went on to become the longest-serving consort of any monarch in British history, accompanying his wife on her royal duties around the country and the world, including their historic first trip to China in 1986.

Agencies - Xinhua