Prince Harry had quite the sombre realization about parenthood at his and wife Meghan Markle's most recent royal engagement. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were attending the annual WellChild awards ceremony on Tuesday, October 15.
In a poignant speech which he delivered during the award ceremony, the 35-year-old royal spoke about how this time last year, he and his wife Meghan were secretly expecting their first child together.
And before he could even begin to recall the feelings the couple underwent while realizing that they were going to be first time parents, Harry's tears got the better of him and he broke down in front of the audience.
"Last year, when my wife and I attended, we knew we were expecting our first child — no one else did at the time, but we did — and I remember..." he said before his voice trailed off with fresh tears welling in his eyes.
Putting his head down to calm himself, the Duke of Sussex resumed his speech as the crowd supportively applauded him. "I remember squeezing Meghan's hand so tight during the awards, both of us thinking what it would be like to be parents one day," he went on to say.
"And more so, what it would be like to do everything we could to protect and help our child should they be born with immediate challenges or become unwell over time. And now, as parents, being here and speaking to all of you, pulls at my heartstrings in a way I could have never understood until I had a child of my own," Harry added.
WellChild awards, which has somehow managed to become an integral part of both Meghan and Harry's social calendar, works towards honouring gravely ill children and their caregivers. The annual award function is also considered to be one of the most emotional royal engagements that the couple undertake every year.
Prince Harry has been a patron of the charity since 2007, but this year was the first time that the royal showed up to the awards ceremony as a father of a five-month-old son, Archie. This was his wife Meghan's second time attending the award show, for she made her debut at the function last year.
