Prince Charles has sent a heartfelt message to Australia as it continues to be ravaged by giant, deadly infernos.
Following a message of sadness from Queen Elizabeth on Sunday, her son has now expressed his sympathy for those impacted by the devastating bushfires which, since the fire season began in October, have killed at least 25 and destroyed hundreds of homes.
In a video posted on social media by Clarence House, Prince Charles described the destruction of the fires burning across Australia as "appalling horror" and said he and his wife, Camilla, were "in despair".
"I did want to say that both of us have been in despair over the last several weeks watching this appalling horror unfolding in Australia and witnessing so much of what you're having to go through, from this distance," he said.
"Those of you who have tragically lost your properties, your homes, everything, to me, it is, and to both of us, not to be believed possible, and I know how many houses have been lost."
He said his warm wishes went to the "remarkable, courageous, determined firefighters" who he said had worked "ceaselessly to exhaustion".
"I know, we both know, just how incredibly special and resilient the Australian people are, so I know at the end of the day, despite all this horror, you will find a way to face it all and win through," he said.
"All I can say is we are thinking of you, we are praying for you in the most determined way.
"I am very proud to know you all."
Prince Charles said he was also thinking of the hundreds of millions of animals which are thought to have been killed as smoke covers much of the country. The habitat of many species' has also been destroyed.
The video message ends with a link to Red Cross Australia, where people can donate to help the recovery efforts.
The fires, of which many are currently out of control, have primarily ripped across three states - New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. At least 6.3 million hectares of land has been burnt, with the extreme fires at some stages threatening outer suburbs of centres like Sydney.
Smoke from the large blazes has travelled across oceans, covering New Zealand last week and South America on Tuesday.
The Queen said on Sunday that she was "deeply saddened" by the fires and her thoughts went out to the emergency services helping battle the blaze and assist those affected. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle also paid tribute to the firefighters over the weekend.
