Prince Harry Makes A Sad Confession About Archie And Lilibet's Future
Prince Harry grew up in the spotlight as the son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana and the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II. He revealed the stress of that celebrity growing up and feeling angry and helpless when paparazzi would follow his mother in the documentary series "The Me You Can't See," via Insider. And on Dax Shepherd's "Armchair Expert" podcast, Prince Harry said as a member of the royal family that it feels like the U.K. media "feel an ownership over you." He also went on to describe how angry he got when paparazzi photos of their son Archie's first day of school were published, which is not something that Archie, as a child, has any control over.
And he explained that after going to therapy, he realized he shouldn't just get angry over these invasions of privacy, but he started to understand how he could use his privilege and position to help change the world for the better for the next generation. One of the ways that he's working to do that is supporting the 5Rights Foundation. The 5Rights Foundation was created to help make the internet a safe place for children, and in a webinar for the debut of the Global Child Online Safety Toolkit, Prince Harry spoke about the fears he has for his children — Archie and Lilibet.
Prince Harry is learning he alone won't be able to protect his kids online
In the webinar for the 5Rights Foundation, Prince Harry spoke about his worries for children if the digital environment doesn't change, noting that "the next generation [is] growing up in a world where they are treated as digital experiments for companies to make money and where things like hatred and harm are somehow normalized," per People. The Duke of Sussex also noted his children Archie and Lilibet are currently still too little to be exposed to online negativity. And that as much as at times he feels he could "keep them away from the online harm that they could face in the future forever," sadly, he's "learning to know better."
Since parents can't reasonably expect to protect their children from online harm, Prince Harry and others are advocating for changes in digital laws, via The Guardian. The Global Child Online Safety Toolkit provides resources for policy makers to create a safer online world for kids.
Prince Harry publicly criticized how he was brought up
Prince Harry has opened up about wanting to do right by his children before, particularly with regards to how he was raised by his own father, Prince Charles. As The Guardian notes, during an appearance on Dax Shepard's "Armchair Expert" podcast, the duke referred to the "genetic pain and suffering" inflicted on him throughout his childhood. Notably, Harry is focused on ensuring Archie and Lilibet don't endure the same thing. According to the prince, being raised royal was akin to being an animal in the zoo, or like Jim Carrey's titular character in "The Truman Show."
Harry made it clear, though, that he doesn't necessarily blame Charles, since he was evidently raised the same way. "It's a lot of genetic pain and suffering that gets passed on anyway so we as parents should be doing the most we can to try and say: 'You know what, that happened to me, I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen to you,'" Harry asserted. His wife, Meghan Markle, encouraged him to seek out therapy, after realizing there was something deeper going on. Moreover, the move stateside has helped Harry differentiate between what happened to him and, hopefully, how their own kids will be raised.
As Page Six notes, during the Sussexes' interview with Oprah Winfrey, Harry suggested his brother and father are stuck in the monarchy and cannot free themselves. "They don't get to leave. And I have compassion for that," Harry admitted.
Fatherhood has changed Prince Harry's life for the better
Although he has plenty of concerns, Prince Harry absolutely loves being a dad. According to ABC News, during an appearance on "Today," the duke shared how he and wife Meghan Markle initially found it tough to separate their working lives from looking after two young kids, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Archie notably interrupted their Zoom meetings on a regular basis but, as Harry acknowledged, he also forced them to take much-needed breaks as a result.
"I've always wanted to have my own kids, and now I've got two little people who I'm responsible for," Harry shared, although being a dad makes him think about his late mother, Princess Diana, even more than usual. On what specifically he enjoys about fatherhood, the prince gushed, "All of it. The chaos, the learning, the reminder of just every element of yourself, your soul" (via The Independent). Since Archie is talking now, Harry has had to reconsider his outlook on life, to ensure he's in a position to present the world as honestly as he can for his son.
The prince is adamant about changing things for the better too, so his children can benefit. "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," Harry stated. "Otherwise, what's the point in bringing kids into this world, right?"