Prince Harry said "everything changes" after becoming a parent, describing how fatherhood has made him more emotional as he attended the 20th anniversary of the WellChild Awards during a brief visit to the United Kingdom.
The Duke of Sussex, 40, who arrived in London Monday and is on day two of a four-day visit, spoke to Hello! magazine about the impact of having children, saying the experience "really hits you" when you see families facing serious illness. He and his wife, Meghan Markle, live in Montecito, California, and are parents to son Archie, 6, and daughter Lilibet, 4.
At the WellChild Awards ceremony, Harry praised the young winners as a "beacon of hope and inspiration" and urged them to "keep fighting, keep smiling," saying they are "the reason we gather here." He recalled choking up on stage in a previous year and expressed gratitude for having healthy children.
Harry's visit to the ceremony came after a private stop at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, where he laid a wreath and flowers at the grave of his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, on the third anniversary of her death. The duke flew to the U.K. alone and was reported to have been within a short distance of his brother and sister-in-law, the Prince and Princess of Wales, who attended a separate engagement honoring the late queen in Sunningdale, Berkshire.
The appearance marked one of Harry's first public engagements in the U.K. since April, when a legal bid over taxpayer-funded security arrangements was resolved in a way that prevented him from regaining that protection. Harry and Meghan stepped back as senior working members of the royal family in 2020 and subsequently relocated to the United States.
Harry founded the Invictus Games and has maintained a public profile through charity work and his memoir, Spare. At the WellChild event, which honors seriously ill children and their families, he highlighted the resilience of the winners and the role such recognition plays in bringing attention to their experiences.
Observers noted the symbolic nature of the short trip: a mix of public charity work and private commemoration amid ongoing distance from active royal duties. The duke's comments on parenthood add to a growing body of public reflections from the couple on family life since their move to California.
The WellChild Awards marked its 20th year with an evening of presentations and speeches that centered families managing illness and disability. Harry's remarks, and his visit to Windsor, underscored personal and public elements of the trip: a father reflecting on his own children and a grandson paying tribute to his grandmother.