I needed to deal with my past - Prince Harry opens up on therapy and fatherhood
Prince Harry has spoken candidly about how therapy helped shape his journey into fatherhood, revealing that he sought professional support before becoming a dad to better prepare himself emotionally.
Speaking during a Movember event in Melbourne focused on fatherhood and men’s mental well-being, the Duke of Sussex said therapy became an important part of his personal preparation before he and Meghan Markle welcomed their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
“Certainly from a therapy standpoint, you want to be the best version of yourself for your kids,” Harry said.
He explained that he wanted to confront unresolved experiences from his past before stepping into parenthood.
“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,” he added.
Harry shared that before Archie was born, his therapist encouraged him to pay close attention to his emotions once the baby arrived. That advice, he said, proved meaningful in the early days of fatherhood.
He admitted that he experienced an emotional distance at first, describing it as a “disconnection.”
“My wife was the one creating life, and I was there to witness it,” he said, offering a rare and honest glimpse into his feelings during that period.
The prince used the moment to speak directly to fathers and men preparing for parenthood, urging them not to feel isolated by the emotional ups and downs that come with the experience.
“To the dads and soon-to-be dads, yes, it’s messy. You’ll have a rollercoaster of emotions, and don’t judge yourself,” he said.
In a warm and reassuring message, Harry stressed that many men go through similar feelings, even if they are rarely spoken about openly. He praised the work being done to encourage men to speak more honestly about mental health and the realities of fatherhood.
“There’s an evolution happening here,” he said. “And I think the more guys that come forward and talk about it, the higher those numbers will be.”
Harry also reflected on how parenting conversations have changed across generations. He noted that the kind of open emotional dialogue many parents have with their children today was not something that existed in the same way during his own upbringing.
He said today’s children are receiving an “upgrade,” quickly clarifying that he was not comparing himself to King Charles, but rather speaking about how parenting itself continues to evolve with the times.
“With the world the way that it goes, the kids that we bring up in today’s world need to be an upgrade,” he said.
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