Prince Harry has opened up about how becoming a father has made him revisit the loss of his own mother, Diana.
WATCH: Harry visits The Netherlands.
New dad Harry travelled to The Netherlands on Thursday, just days after the birth of his son, Archie Harrison.
Archie and mum Meghan Markle, 37, stayed at home in Windsor.
Harry, 34, who was back at work to launch the countdown to the Invictus Games in The Hague next year, spoke to an army veteran about how he’s coping in the first few days as a parent, and about the loss of his own mother, Diana.
During a promotional bike ride around Sportcampus Zuiderpark (the site for the Invictus Games), Harry, opened up about family life to Dennis van der Stroon, 31, a former soldier who hopes to compete for The Netherlands Invictus team next year.
“We talked about how my wife, Mireille, is 20 weeks pregnant with our first child, a girl, and he told me how special it was that his son has just been born,” Dennis told the press.
“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. But he also told me not to make too many plans and that there’s no way you can plan for when the baby arrives,” Dennis said.
Both Harry and Dennis found common ground in their chat – Harry served in the Army for 10 years, and they both experienced the loss of their mothers. In 2014, Dennis’ mother, Marion, died from chronic lung disease, and in 2015 he was diagnosed with PTSD, triggering what he described as a “domino effect” of mental health issues.
“I told Harry about my mother and we talked about our shared experience of missing a mum,” Dennis shared.
“He said missing a mother is like missing some kind of security, how you need that as a son and it falls away when you lose your mother. He said he meets a lot of people in his work who have lost a mother, father, sister, brother or relatives and when he hears their story, as he heard my story, he said he doesn’t feel so alone.”
Harry’s mother, Princess Diana died on August 31, 1997 after a car crash in Paris.
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