Prince Harry Opens Up About Therapy and Fatherhood at Melbourne Event
The Duke of Sussex has candidly revealed that he knew he "had stuff from the past that I needed to deal with" before becoming a father, during a heartfelt discussion about mental health and parenting in Melbourne. Harry made these deeply personal comments while giving a talk on stage at an event about fatherhood, which was hosted by the prominent men's health charity Movember on Wednesday morning.
A Personal Journey of Preparation
Speaking at the Whitten Oval, the training and administrative headquarters of the Australian rules football club Western Bulldogs, Harry detailed his therapeutic journey. "Certainly from a therapy standpoint, you want to be the best version of yourself for your kids," he explained to the audience. "And I knew that I had stuff from the past that I needed to deal with, and therefore prepare myself to basically cleanse myself of the past." This process, he emphasized, was crucial in his preparation for fatherhood to his children, Archie and Lilibet.
The duke was presented with personalised Western Bulldogs miniature shirts bearing Archie and Lilibet's names on the back upon his arrival at the stadium, highlighting the family-focused nature of the visit. In a discussion with Movember's global director of men's health research, Dr Zac Seidler, Harry noted the evolving dynamics in modern families. He pointed out that "conversations that are now happening in households between kids and parents that never existed between me and my parents," reflecting on generational shifts in parenting approaches.
Fatherhood as an 'Upgrade' and Early Challenges
Harry elaborated on his perspective that children represent an upgrade, telling guests: "From my perspective, our kids are our upgrade. That's not how I was taught but that was my take on it – not to say I was an upgrade of my dad or that my kids are an upgrade of me. That's the approach that I take, to know that with the world the way that it goes, the kids that we bring up in today's world need to be an upgrade." He also addressed the initial "disconnection" many fathers feel, sharing his own experience: "certainly I felt a disconnection because my wife was the one creating life, and I was there to witness it."
Wearing a taupe shirt and jeans, the duke offered practical advice, recalling: "I think for many guys, you try to think about what service can I provide at this point, because my work here is done to some extent. And then when it comes back around again, I think the biggest tip that I was given, actually, from my therapist in the UK, was just be aware of how you feel once the baby is born." He recounted a poignant moment: "Every single time I went to work and I came back – if I was stressed, the moment that I held Archie, he would start crying." Harry concluded this part by affirming: "Fatherhood is the most important and sort of transformational role that a guy can ever, can ever move into."
Blending Work and Family Life
Harry also touched on balancing professional and personal responsibilities, telling the audience of Movember supporters and their children that "I'm fortunate enough to be able to work from home." However, he humorously noted the challenges, saying during a talk in a function room of the stadium: "During Covid, it was like, well, this working from home thing is really not great when you have like small kids running around, jumping into your meetings."
Engaging with Australian Culture and Charity
The event wasn't all serious discussion; Harry embraced the local culture with enthusiasm. He took to the Aussie rules football pitch for a kickabout with Western Bulldogs players Tom Liberatore, Adam Treloar, and Matthew Kennedy, all while wearing his Chelsea boots and discussing the differences between the sport and rugby. The duke looked delighted, beaming as he ran across the pitch to play with children, telling one boy: "Good kick man" and "it's a slippery ball that." He also posed for photographs while holding a Western Bulldogs scarf.
Adding to the festive atmosphere, Harry witnessed John Pearce (John Wiggle) and Lachlan Gillespie (Lachy Wiggle) from the Australian children's music group The Wiggles perform on the pitch, and he gave a little wiggle of his own in response. The Movember movement, founded in Melbourne in 2003, is a global charity dedicated to improving men's health, with a focus on mental health, suicide prevention, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer. The campaign, which involves men growing moustaches during November to raise awareness, has raised hundreds of millions of pounds across more than 20 countries, with "Mo" commonly used in Australia as slang for moustache.
