Prince Charles Said Being Unable to See His Grandchildren During Lockdown Is "Terribly Sad"

Prince Charles spoke about missing his family amid the ongoing coronavirus lockdown, saying, "You really just want to give people a hug."

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london, england march 11 prince charles, prince of wales attends the princes trust and tk maxx homesense awards at london palladium on march 11, 2020 in london, england photo by karwai tangwireimage
(Image credit: Karwai Tang)

Prince Charles opened up about missing his grandchildren as the U.K. remains in lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. The future king—grandfather to Archie, Charlotte, Louis, and George—told Sky News that being separated from his family was "terribly sad."

Charles spoke about being unable to see his father, Prince Philip, ahead of his 99th birthday on June 10. "Well I haven't seen my father for a long time," he said. "He's going to be 99 next week, so yes, or my grandchildren or anything. I've been doing the FaceTime, it's all very well, 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 just want to give people a hug," Charles said.

The Prince of Wales said he felt "lucky" that his own experience of coronavirus was relatively mild, saying he "got away with it quite lightly." He also shared his belief that a "green recovery" from the pandemic was essential, in line with his previous climate change activism.

"The point is that in order to avoid even worse situations in the future and more disease, we have to, we have to find a way to ensure that in the next 10 years, because otherwise we will lose this battle against accelerating climate change and global warming," Charles said. "If we go on like this with temperatures rising inexorably then the whole of life becomes increasingly impossible."

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Emily Dixon
Emily Dixon
Morning Editor

Emily Dixon is a British journalist who’s contributed to CNN, Teen Vogue, Time, Glamour, The Guardian, Wonderland, The Big Roundtable, Bust, and more, on everything from mental health to fashion to political activism to feminist zine collectives. She’s also a committed Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, and Tracee Ellis Ross fan, an enthusiastic but terrible ballet dancer, and a proud Geordie lass.