Sunrise: Sam Armytage raises eyebrows with comments about Prince Charles

Sunrise host Samantha Armytage raised eyebrows on Friday while discussing the fact Prince Charles will not be attending his father Prince Philip’s 99th birthday.

Charles was diagnosed with COVID-19 in mid-March but has since recovered. His father, being very old and with health issues, is at higher risk of dying from the virus. 

Samantha, 43, remarked that if she were Philip, she would tell Charles to ‘keep away from me, too’.

The segment began with newsreader Natalie Barr revealing how the 71-year-old prince had spoken of the impact the pandemic was having on him personally.

‘Prince Charles has opened up about missing his family during the coronavirus lockdown in the UK,’ she said.

She continued: ‘During an interview, he spoke about not being able to wait to hug his children, his grandkids and his friends once the pandemic is over. The future king also spoke about his first-hand experience battling the virus.’

Natalie explained that Charles also had not seen his father ‘for a long time and won’t be able to attend his 99th birthday next week’.

‘I don’t blame Philip, if Charles has had [coronavirus] and I was 99 I’d be saying, “Keep away from me too”,’ Samantha said.

The Prince of Wales was diagnosed with coronavirus following a test by NHS doctors in March.

Fortunately, he only suffered ‘mild’ symptoms and carried on working throughout.

Royal sources said the prince was in ‘good health’ throughout his illness and his self-isolation lasted seven days ‘in accordance with government and medical guidelines’. 

Despite his mild symptoms, Prince Charles revealed in an interview on Sky News that his experience had helped him empathise with others during the pandemic. 

He explained: ‘I can’t tell you how much I sympathise with the way that everyone has had to endure with this unbelievably testing and challenging time.

‘I know that so many people have had the agony of losing their loved ones and the bewilderment and anxiety that surrounds everything.

‘It is the most awful aspect of a pandemic like this, and yet we’ve seen at the same time people being quite remarkable and wonderful people in the national health service and all the other key workers who kept everything going.’