Prince Harry has revealed his two young children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, are incredibly "funny" and opened up about fatherhood in new comments made ahead of his 40th birthday.
Harry will enter his fifth decade on September 15, and is expected to celebrate with his wife Meghan Markle and their two children, Archie (born in 2019) and Lilibet (born in 2021) at their family home in Montecito, California.
On Friday, in a statement from his spokesperson Harry told the BBC about his feelings around his milestone birthday, and reflected on what matters to him most.
"I was anxious about 30, I'm excited about 40," he said. "Whatever the age, my mission is to continue showing up and doing good in the world."
On his role as a father, he said that he had gained a new kind of perspective on life.
"Becoming a father of two incredibly kind and funny kids has given me a fresh perspective on life, as well as sharpening my focus in all my work," he said.
"Being a dad is one of life's greatest joys and has only made me more driven and more committed to making this world a better place."
Since their split from the monarchy and move to the U.S. in 2020, Harry and Meghan have prioritized the privacy of their family, with the public being given limited and controlled access to images and information about them.
To date, only one formal solo portrait image of Lilibet has been released by Harry and Meghan, and no solo portrait of their son, Archie, has been issued since the U.S. move.
The public were given unprecedented access to the Sussex family's home life in their 2022 docuseries, Harry & Meghan, which allowed filmmakers to include home movie footage and photos of the children growing up.
During a number of appearances in recent years, Meghan and Harry have also provided small updates on their children's progress. In August, Meghan revealed that 3-year-old Lilibet had "found her voice" during a speaking engagement in Colombia.
In recent years, Harry has spoken about the importance he places on his role as a father, and in his 2023 memoir, Spare, told readers just how desperately he sought to fulfil his dream of having a family.
In an interview promoting the book, the prince told author Gabor Maté that he makes sure to "smother" his children with "love and affection."
Concluding his statement to the BBC to mark his birthday, Harry said he was looking forward to the future.
"Bring on the next decade," he said.
Newsweek approached representatives of Prince Harry via email for comment.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
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