Prince Charles misses hugging his family amid coronavirus lockdown

FILE - In this Monday, March 9, 2020 file photo, Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall, in the background, leave after attending the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in London, Monday, March 9, 2020. Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, has tested positive for the new coronavirus. The prince's Clarence House office reported on Wednesday, March 25, 2020 that the 71-year-old is showing mild symptoms of COVID-19 and is self-isolating at a royal estate in Scotland. For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - In this Monday, March 9, 2020 file photo, Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall, in the background, leave after attending the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in London, Monday, March 9, 2020. Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, has tested positive for the new coronavirus. The prince's Clarence House office reported on Wednesday, March 25, 2020 that the 71-year-old is showing mild symptoms of COVID-19 and is self-isolating at a royal estate in Scotland. For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

LONDON (AP) -- Prince Charles says he has missed giving his family members a hug during the long weeks of lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Prince of Wales also acknowledged in a interview with Sky News on Thursday that he had not seen his father, the Duke of Edinburgh for many weeks. Prince Philip, who is shielding at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth II, is set to celebrate his 99th birthday next week.

Speaking virtually from his Scottish home of Birkhall, Charles -- the heir to the throne -- was asked about being apart from his family.

"Well, it's terribly sad, let alone one's friends,'' he said. "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 want to give people a hug," he said.

Charles, who himself suffered from COVID-19, said contracting coronavirus made him more determined to "push and shout and prod" for a more green approach and to have nature return to the "center of everything we do."

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