The Duke of Sussex meets Western Bulldogs representatives during a visit to Movember at the Western Bulldogs HQ at Whitten Oval, in Footscray, Melbourne (Image: Jonathan Brady/PA)
Prince Harry candidly opened up about his own personal battles during a visit men’s health charity Movember in Melbourne.
The Duke of Sussex greeted staff of the organisation on Wednesday morning at the Whitten Oval, which is the training and administrative headquarters of Australian rules football club Western Bulldogs.
In a discussion on stage with Movember’s global director of men’s health research, Dr Zac Seidler, Harry said parents must adapt as social media reshapes family life.
“Obviously, 40 years ago, there wasn’t social media,” he said.
Harry was interviewed on stage during his Movember appearance (Image: Jonathan Brady/PA)
“That’s just one example of conversations that are now happening in households between kids and parents that never existed between me and my parents.”
Harry said he “felt a disconnection” during his early days as a father.
He said: “My wife was the one creating life, and I was there to witness it. And 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 spoke about the evolving roles of parents, telling the 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.”
Harry also spoke on how important therapy has been for his own mental health.
“I knew that I had stuff from the past that I needed to deal with,” he said.
“For me, there’s an element of choosing therapy because you have something or you think there’s something that needs fixing.
“There’s also the other piece of therapy, which is preventative and getting ahead of it. You don’t have to wait until you’re lying on the kitchen floor in the foetal position.”
Harry kicked an Australian rules football as he met with Western Bulldogs players (Image: Jonathan Brady/PA)
The Movember movement, founded in Melbourne in 2003, is a global charity focused on improving men’s health – particularly in relation to mental health, suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.
The campaign, which involves men growing moustaches during the month of 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.
Since its founding, Movember has funded more than 1,250 men’s health projects around the world.
It comes after the couple hugged patients at a children’s hospital as hundreds of people turned out to greet them at the beginning of their visit to Australia on Tuesday.
Harry and Meghan spoke to children and posed for photographs with patients, as they were cheered by large crowds gathered along the walkways of the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex at the Australian National Veterans Arts Museum (Image: Jonathan Brady/PA)
Following their visit to the hospital, Harry and Meghan changed into matching olive green outfits as they stopped at the Australian National Veterans’ Art Museum on Tuesday afternoon.
The couple put on aprons and joined a pottery session with the children of veterans, known as “doves” by the museum, with Meghan crafting a clay ostrich.