Prince Harry spoke emotionally about the loss of his mum after Archie’s birth
The Sussex’s first child Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was born at 5:26am on 6 May.
- Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan welcomed baby Archie earlier this week
- The couple chose to approach their birth announcement in their own way
- The pair announced they were expecting their first child last year while visiting Australia
Prince-in-waiting
The baby boy weighed 3.2kg, a little lighter than his cousins – George, Charlotte and Louis – were at birth.
Harry described his newborn son as “absolutely to die for” while Meghan noted the experience of becoming a mother was “magic” and gushed that she had “the two best guys in the world” as the couple faced the press two days after Archie’s birth.
“I am Daddy”
Of course, Prince Harry’s focus has shifted remarkably since Archie’s arrival, the reality of becoming a father sinking in. Harry popped across to The Hague yesterday to mark the one-year countdown to one of his passion projects, the Invictus Games.
Harry was promptly gifted with an Invictus Games onesie for Archie and bestowed with a jacket for himself that was embroidered with the words “Invictus Family – I am Daddy”.
Prince Harry is given Invictus onesie for baby Archie. pic.twitter.com/sfBpFaM6Db
— The Hill (@thehill) 9 May 2019
Missing mum
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that at the Invictus launch, the prince spoke to former soldier Dennis van der Stroom about becoming a father and how it felt to grow up without a beloved mum. There’s no doubt that in the wake of becoming a father himself, Harry’s feeling her loss all the more and wishes so much that she could be there to meet baby Archie.
“He said missing a mother is like missing some kind of security,” Dennis revealed, “how you need that as a son and it falls away when you lose your mother.”
Harry’s mother Prince Diana was tragically killed in a car accident when he was just 12 years old. He and brother William mourned her loss in front of the world, and both suffered immensely as they tried to come to terms with the grief and the scrutiny they were under.
Little Archie’s birth is a new chapter in grown-up Harry’s life, where marriage to Meghan has signalled much happier times.
Dennis van der Stroom explained that Harry feels the future with his new little family is very rosy.
“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.
“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 also told me he’s really happy that his son is so far very quiet.”
“Slept for 24 hours!”
Invictus Games medallist JJ Chalmers was also at the launch and chatted to Harry. He said the prince told him being a dad was “amazing” but “hard work.”
Harry also spilled the beans about what Archie’s up to, so far.
“He said that (Archie) slept for the first 24 hours like all babies do … and then he woke up,” noting that “I see the guy with a buzzing smile on his face still. Like any father, he lights up even more when he speaks about his son and how proud he is of his wife and what she’s doing right now in his absence.”
How. Lovely. #sigh
