Prince Harry needed to 'cleanse myself of the past' before becoming a father but said 'there's no pointing the finger' at Charles

Prince Harry has opened up about fatherhood during a visit to Western Bulldogs HQ at Mission Whitten Oval in Melbourne.

The Duke of Sussex spoke at a Movember Q and A session in front of a small audience on Wednesday and revealed he needed to "cleanse myself of the past" before becoming a dad.

The father-of-two was quick to add "there's no finger pointing" at his own mum, Princess Diana, or his estranged dad, King Charles, saying parenting has changed over the generations.

"From a therapy standpoint, you want to be the best version of yourself for your kids," the 41-year-old said.

"And 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."

Now a dad to six-year-old Prince Archie and four-year-old Princess Lilibet, he said each new generation should be an "upgrade" to the last.

"I see parenting evolving over time," he added.

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"I think it always has, just as much as from my perspective, our kids are our upgrade. That's not how I was taught but that was my take on it.

"The reality is that, however you are parenting, that is a personal experience to you, you are going to want to improve on that.

"Obviously 40 years ago, there wasn't social media, so that's just one example of conversations that are now happening in households between kids and parents that never existed between me and my parents."

Harry also opened up about the days following the birth of his son Archie in May 2019, saying he felt "helpless" after wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex gave birth.

"Certainly, I felt a disconnection because my wife was the one creating life, and I was there to witness it," he said.

"And I think for many guys, you try to think about what service can I provide at this point, because my work here is done to some extent."

He revealed his mates had forewarned him of this feeling and that "helped me massively" in the early days, and so instead he focused on Meghan.

"I was like, 'OK, if I can't help him, then I'm going to help my wife. I'm going to help mum, and I'm going to constantly just over offer'," he said.

Harry added that any prospective fathers should know that they're not alone if they feel this way.

"To the dads and soon-to-be dads: yes, it's messy. You'll have a rollercoaster of emotions – and don't judge yourself," he said.

The duke praised charities like Movember that were leading the evolution of men talking about such things, which wouldn't have happened in previous decades.

Prince Harry also kicked around a footy with members of Bulldogs, where they were also joined by members from The Wiggles on the solo outing, as the Duchess of Sussex filmed a cameo appearance on TV series Masterchef Australia.

The former member of the British Army who served two tours of Afghanistan then travelled to Canberra for a solo outing at the Australian War Memorial on Wednesday night.

Harry and Meghan are in Australia for a whirlwind four-day visit - a non-royal tour that is very similarly linked to a number of charities but unlike a royal tour, also include business endeavours for the former senior working members of the royal family.

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