Prince Harry's 'Important' Parenting Method That's Different From His Childhood Helps His Kids 'Flourish'

By Laura Rizzo Chagani Parade - Trending Stories

Updated May 7, 2026 6:12 AM

Prince Harry is raising his kids, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, in a much different way than he was brought up, and it's allowed them to thrive.

Harry, 41, and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped down as senior royals in 2020 and are currently raising their kids in California. The decision to keep them almost completely out of the public eye, the opposite of Harry's childhood, aligns with their parenting philosophy.

"They give their kids space to be themselves - for their different personalities to flourish," a source told People ahead of Archie's 7th birthday on May 6. "After growing up so publicly, that was really important to Harry."

The Duke of Sussex previously likened his own upbringing to "being in a zoo" during an appearance on Dax Shepard's "Armchair Expert" podcast in 2021. Harry explained the intense anger he felt growing up in the public eye and being put under intense media scrutiny.

"The biggest issue for me was that being born into it you inherit the risk, you inherit the risk that comes with it - you inherit every element of it without choice and because of the way that the UK media are, they feel an ownership over you," the Duke said.

Harry said it's a "dangerous" scenario not having "a choice" about the amount of privacy he's received, adding, "But then of course people, quite rightly, will turn around and go, 'So what if you didn't have a choice? It was privilege.'"

The pressure of his royal life, combined with the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997, led to Harry having many doubts about the lifestyle he wanted. The Princess of Wales died in Paris after a high-speed chase by the paparazzi led to a car crash.

"I was like, ‘I don't want this job. I don't want this role. Wherever this is headed, I don't like it.' It killed my mum, and I was very much against it, and I stuck my head in the sand for years and years," Harry said during an April 2026 event in Australia, per People.

However, he later "realized" he wanted to make "the most of this platform" to make a "difference in the world," adding, "What would my mum want me to do? And that really changed my own perspective."

When it comes to raising his own kids, Harry has been candid about doing things differently and healing his past trauma.

"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 said while talking with other fathers during his Australian tour in April.

Harry acknowledged that dad life can be "messy," but he's hoping to instill better in the next generation, adding, "Certainly, from a therapy standpoint, you want to be the best version of yourself for your kids."

During the same event, Harry talked about "upgrading" his parenting from past generations. "There's no judgment, there's no blame," he noted. "However, you are parenting … you are going to want to improve on that."

This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 5:02 AM.

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