'This year it resonates in a different way as now I'm a father.'
Prince Harry was fighting back tears when he took the stage at the annual WellChild Awards in London, England, on Tuesday.
The event celebrates the inspiring qualities of some of the country's seriously ill young people and the dedication of those who care for and support them. The Duke of Sussex gave an emotional speech about what an honor it was to participate in the awards ceremony, especially after becoming a father earlier this year.
"They never fail to inspire me -- but this year it resonates in a different way as now I'm a father," Harry, who welcomed son Archie in May with wife Meghan Markle, told the audience. "Last year, when my wife and I attended [the WellChild Awards], we knew that we were going to have a child, no one else knew but we did."
Visibly choked up, the 35-year-old royal -- who was dressed in a dark suit and light blue tie -- paused his speech as British TV personality Gaby Roslin put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.
"I remember squeezing Meghan's hand so tight during the awards and both of us thinking what it would be like to be parents one day and more so what it would be like to protect and help our child should they be born with immediate challenges or become unwell over time," he continued after gaining his composure. "And now talking to all of you as a parent pulls at my heartstrings, in a way I never could have understood, until I had a child of my own. No parent wants to hear that their child will suffer, that they will face extraordinary challenges -- that will affect them throughout their lives."
Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary of when Meghan and Harry announced they were expecting their first child, just months after tying the knot at Windsor Castle.
Meghan, 38, was also at the awards ceremony, and the couple gushed over their 5-month-old son. According to royal reporters, the Duchess of Sussex revealed that Archie attended his first playgroup, which "he loved."
Harry then confirmed that his baby boy has red hair, just like his dad! "You can see it in his eyebrows," he mused.
The Duke of Sussex recently teamed up with fellow ginger Ed Sheeran on World Mental Health Day, and there was a little, albeit, hilarious, misunderstanding on Sheeran's part.
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