Prince Harry opens up about family time in quarantine with baby Archie, commending struggling parents
Prince Harry participated in a video conference this week and showed the world he's just like everyone else — quarantine affects him too. Not only has he had to get used to the world's new normal — video chats instead of in-person appearances — he also opened up about being a dad during these trying times.
The Duke of Sussex was on the video conference with some families and employees of the charity WellChild, which he is a patron of, Entertainment Tonight (a ViacomCBS property) reports. During the conversation, which was shared on YouTube, Prince Harry said he's "not too bad," although he acknowledged that "it's certainly strange times, everyone is experiencing the same thing in a unique way."
The 35-year-old also opened up about his 11-month-old son with his wife, Meghan Markle. "I can't even begin to imagine how hard it is for you guys," he told the families, who all have children with health issues. "Having one kid at 11 months old is enough, so to see what you guys are going through on a day-to-day basis, honestly, so much respect to every single one of you."
The families on the call depend on health care workers coming to their homes to help their children. They shared the challenges of taking care of their children during this time of social distancing.
WellChild works to ensure all children in the U.K. who are living with serious illness or exceptional health needs get the care they need at home. WellChild CEO Colin Dyer and nurse Rachel Gregory were also on the call to hear these families' struggles.
The prince commiserated with the families, saying, "None of us should be in this situation, but we are." He also commended one mother's positive outlook.
"Being able to have family time, so much family time where you almost think, 'Oh, do I feel guilty for having so much family time?' You've gotta celebrate those moments where you just are on the floor rolling around in hysterics because of something that's happened and then inevitably half an hour later, maybe a day later, there's going to be something you have to deal with and there's no way you can run away from it. You can't even distract yourself in a different room."
During the 30-minute video conference, Prince Harry heard from several parents of children with multiple complex medical needs, ET reports. "Full respect to every single one of you," the prince told the families. "This is hard on everyone, but it is especially hard on you."
"I know that WellChild are doing everything they can to support you. Hopefully, through this video we can make it more clear and obvious to government and everybody else that you are in the vulnerable bracket and WellChild needs more help," he continued.
He also told the families it was nice to see the smiling and encouraged them keep their morale up — something many people around the world are struggling with.
Prince Harry and Meghan stepped down from their roles as senior royals earlier this year after announcing plans to split their time between Britain and North America. They firs stayed in Canada and have now moved to Los Angeles. In addition to the call with WellChild, they also joined Project Angel Food to deliver meals to 20 clients living with critical illnesses. They also recently donated more than $112,000 to Feeding Britain, which works to alleviate and eliminate hunger in the U.K., ET reports.