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Prince Harry reveals what he loves about fatherhood: ‘I’ve always wanted to be a dad’

‘The reminder of just every element of yourself, your soul’

Amber Raiken
New York
Wednesday 20 April 2022 20:33 BST
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(Getty Images for the Invictus Ga)

Prince Harry has revealed what he loves most about being a father to his two-year-old son Archie and 10-month-old daughter Lilibet, who he shares with his wife Meghan Markle.

The Duke of Sussex was asked about parenting during an interview with Today’s Hoda Kotb from The Hague, Netherlands, where Harry is currently attending the fifth Invictus Games.

“What do you love about fatherhood?” Kotb asked, to which the duke responded: “All of it. The chaos, the learning, the reminder of just every element of yourself, your soul.”

Prince Harry noted that when someone isn’t a parent, it can be easy to get wrapped up in “all sorts of stuff” and “forget who you are”.

However, Prince Harry noted that being a father has kept him thinking, as Archie has been “asking all the questions,” to which the duke said he tries to give “the most honest answer” that he can.

“Archie, at the age he’s at, is asking all the questions,” Prince Harry continued. “Questions of the why, he’s into the why thing. ‘Why this? Why that?’ And instead of trying to just move it on, I give him the most honest answer that I can.”

“And then he goes, on, and on, and on until he’s satisfied,” he added. “And then that’s it, it’s done. Otherwise it ends up with: ‘Because the world is round and that’s the way it goes.”

Prince Harry then emphasised how much he “loves” being and “always wanted” to be a father.

“I love it,” he said. “I love every part of it. I’ve always wanted to be a dad. I’ve always wanted to have my own kids, and now I got two little people who I’m responsible for.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Prince Harry opened up about his responsibilities as a “parent,” one of which being to “make the world a better place” for the sake of his children.

“My sort of mantra now every day, it’s a dangerous one, because I need to make sure that I don’t have burnout, but it’s trying to make the world a better place for my kids,” he said. “Otherwise, what’s the point in bringing kids into this world, right? It’s a responsibility that I feel as a parent and that you probably feel as a parent as well.”

“We can’t fix everything,” he added. “We know that, but what we can do is be there for each other.”

Kotb also asked the Duke if Archie had the same “cheeky” personality as his father. In response, Prince Harry said: “Yeah, and I think so. I always try and keep that. I think that, the cheekiness is something that keeps you alive.”

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