Prince Harry has spoken openly to Sky News during his official tour of New Zealand, telling of his desire to have children and more about his decision to leave the Armed Forces next month.
In an eight-minute interview with the British broadcaster, he said that he would “love to have kids right now” but admitted that the time would come and could not be forced, saying that there was a “process that one has to go through.”
The Prince, who is currently on an eight-day official visit to New Zealand, was speaking to Sky News’s Royal Correspondent, Rhiannon Mills, outside his hilltop bungalow on Stewart Island. He said: “Royal tours like this are great fun, hopefully I’m doing alright by myself. It would be great to have somebody next to me to sort of share the pressure but, you know, time will come and whatever happens, happens.”
On Monday, Harry looked happy and at ease as he visited Halfmoon Bay School in Oban where he observed youngsters take part in a German lesson via Skype before helping them to make paper crowns. He then faced a grilling from the pupils who asked him what his favourite food was and how he referred to The Queen.
Prince Harry smiles with pupils at the Halfmoon Bay School in Oban. The Prince has said that he would “love kids right now”
The Prince’s latest comments come just over a week since his sister-in-law, The Duchess of Cambridge, gave birth to Princess Charlotte – pushing Harry to fifth in the line of succession.
“I didn’t see any coverage at all,” he said, but told of how his brother had sent him pictures of his new niece on the day. “He sent me two photos; one before everybody else, which was nice, and then another – one with her (Princess Charlotte) back with George back home.”
During the one-on-one interview, the Prince also spoke about his recent attachment with the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and his military career to date.
Before visiting New Zealand, Harry spent four weeks in Australia, taking part in a variety of training exercises and domestic deployments – an opportunity that the Prince has said he is hugely grateful for. He said: “I can’t thank the ADF enough for putting up with me and organising a pretty intense programme. I was like a zombie at the end of it.”
The Prince spoke of his obvious enjoyment, saying “it was everything I joined the Army for, and some” and “when its really, really fun stuff, you don’t care how tired you are, you just keep pushing on.” His Australian attachment comes at the end of a 10-year military career, as Harry ends his operational service with the Armed Forces in June.
In this latest interview, he explained his reasons for leaving behind such a large part of his life; something he had described, in a previous statement, as a “really tough decision”:
“I’m in the same position now as other people in my year group, or my rank, would be in. Because I’m a non-grad, I’m slightly behind everybody else.
“And most of the guys I joined with … have already left, for numerous reasons.
“But it is a case of, if we move on, more responsibilities come. And I suppose with wanting to take on slightly more of (the royal duties) role, I don’t really feel I would be in the right position (to help) the careers of more soldiers or to take on the responsibility of continuing to fly, for instance.”
Harry spoke of his hesitation to progress further in the Army, something which would have seen him take on a more desk-based role, away from the field operations which he has experienced and enjoyed:
“A lot of guys my age, when they get to Captain, they leave, and that’s partly because a lot of guys join for the outside, for the excitement of running around in the bush with soldiers and there is a point when you have to take the next step and go to a desk and do staff college and become Major and so on. With all that comes responsibilities and a lot of your time, which, if I’m doing this sort of stuff, it doesn’t work.
“And it doesn’t sit comfortably with me, knowing that I’m off doing something while others are still at work looking after my soldiers. I don’t want people to cover for me. That was never going to work.”
Prince Harry has been a Captain with the Blues and Royals since April 2011, having worked his way up from Cornet through Lieutenant. Today, it is much harder to progress to the more senior ranks of the British Army without a university degree.
The Prince, alongside his brother William, has been keen to carve his own path away from royal duties whilst he can and also spoke of his desire to “have a wage”.
“This part of the role is fantastic,” he said. “But I and William – both of us – feel as though we need to have a wage as well; to work with normal people, to keep us sane, to keep us ticking along.
“In the future, from our point of view, if we want to make a big contribution, or a valid contribution and be taken seriously, then we need to work alongside other people.”
The rest of Harry’s official tour will see him visit Christchurch tomorrow (Tuesday) before moving on to Linton Military Camp, Whanganui and concluding on 16 May in Auckland. The full itinerary of the Prince’s visit is available here.
Royal Central will be providing ongoing coverage on the site and also on Twitter.
Image Credits: Emily Nash
