Prince Harry is taking his new role as “father” in stride. The newly-minted dad stepped out for royal duties just one week after announcing the birth of his first child with Meghan Markle, and he had a few update about first-time parenthood in his conversations with fellow parents.
On Tuesday, May 14, Harry worked a full day visit to Oxford, where he stopped by the local children’s hospital and reunited with a 13-year-old girl named Mikayla, also a former recipient of the WellChild award. Among the parents at the stop, Harry chatted with was Amy Scullard, a mother of two, whose 3-year-old son Emmett is currently in remission after being diagnosed with testicular cancer a year ago.
Scullard later told People that she shared a heartfelt talk about raising young children (she is also mother to a 10-week-old daughter) with the Duke of Sussex. “Harry asked me if she was over the stormy period as babies are supposed to be grump for the first 10 weeks,” Scullard said. “And she is.”
“He said he’s getting used to the baby and how Archie has fitted into family life,” Scullard continued. “He said he just feels part of the family and he can’t imagine life without his son.” Just last week, Markle spoke with reporters about welcoming the new addition to their growing family.
“It’s pretty magical, it’s pretty amazing. I have the two best guys in the world so I’m really happy,” the former Suits actress noted. “[Archie] has the sweetest temperament, he’s really calm.”
Harry will likely have more to share about his experiences as a first-time dad. Last Thursday, he traveled to The Netherlands to launch the official countdown to the Invictus Games 2020 in The Hague. There, during a bike ride with a former soldier, the royal opened up about his excitement.
“Harry talked about how having a small child was his new focus and new goal and I told him how a couple of months ago, I was struggling with my mental health, but my wife’s pregnancy has given me a goal,” van der Stroon told People. (His wife is 20 weeks pregnant with their first child, a girl.)
“Above all, he said he was just amazed by the miracles in the world, and how his child has made a lot of people happy,” he continued. “He also told me he’s really happy that his son is so far very quiet. But he also told me not to make too many plans and that there’s no way you can plan for when the baby arrives.”
Baby Archie was born on May 6, just about two weeks short of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s wedding anniversary. The couple will celebrate their first wedding anniversary together on May 19.
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