Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on April 15, 2026
3 min readLast updated: April 15, 2026
Add as preferred source on GooglePrince Harry, on a four‑day private tour of Australia with Meghan, spoke candidly about early fatherhood challenges—feeling disconnected at the birth of his children and using therapy to heal past wounds while visiting a Melbourne football club.
By Alasdair Pal
SYDNEY, April 15 (Reuters) - Britain's Prince Harry spoke on Wednesday of the struggles of early fatherhood, as he visited a Melbourne football club on the second day of his tour of Australia with wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
The couple is on a four-day trip to the country, with engagements covering sport, mental health and veterans' affairs.
At the training ground of the Western Bulldogs Australian rules football club, Harry gave a speech in which he spoke about feeling disconnected from his children, and using therapy to overcome past issues.
"Certainly, I felt a disconnection because my wife was the one creating life, and I was there to witness it," he said at the event, co-hosted by the Movember mental health charity.
"From a therapy standpoint, you want to be the best version of yourself for your kids. 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."
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have two children, Archie and Lilibet, who are not accompanying them on the trip.
The couple stepped down as working members of the British royal family and moved to the U.S. in 2020, citing a desire to be financially independent and to escape what they characterised as media intrusion into their private lives.
They last visited Australia in 2018 while still working royals, announcing Meghan's first pregnancy hours after arriving in Sydney.
COUPLE RECEIVE MIXED RECEPTION
Harry and Meghan have received a mixed reception in Australia, where Britain's King Charles is the head of state, though a sizeable minority supports becoming a republic.
The couple were greeted by hundreds of children and parents at a children's hospital in Melbourne on Tuesday, who said their presence had brought hope to young patients there.
But many other Australians have questioned their reasons for visiting the country.
"This is no royal visit but a continuation of tone-deaf hawking by a couple estranged from reality," an opinion piece in the Sydney Morning Herald said ahead of the visit.
The couple's travel is being privately funded, though local media reported some policing costs associated with the visit would be paid by Australian taxpayers, sparking a protest petition signed by more than 45,000 people.
In contrast to their previous visit, the Sussexes will also undertake commercial activities while in Australia, with Meghan remaining in the country to host a wellness retreat at a luxury beachside hotel in Sydney over the weekend.
Tickets for the event, which includes yoga, manifestation and sound healing, start at A$2,699 ($1,912) per person.
(Reporting by Alasdair Pal in Sydney; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
Prince Harry spoke about feeling disconnected in early fatherhood and highlighted the importance of therapy for addressing past issues.
They are on a four-day visit covering engagements related to sport, mental health, veterans' affairs, and commercial activities.
Their visit received a mixed reception, with some welcoming them and others questioning the purpose and costs of their trip.
No, Archie and Lilibet are not accompanying Prince Harry and Meghan on their Australia trip.
Meghan is hosting a wellness retreat at a luxury beachside hotel in Sydney, offering yoga, manifestation, and sound healing.
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