Prince Harry says children should be an ‘upgrade’ of their parents as he talks mental health in Melbourne

In Melbourne, Harry was at the launch of a report into the mental health of fathers of young children, by the charity Movember.

After introducing himself with a “G’day everyone”, the Duke talked about his own mental health after becoming a dad – with references to his father, King Charles III.

“The world around us has changed massively, so there is no version of where parenting is going to be the same as we experienced,” he said.

“I see parenting evolving all the time. From my perspective, our kids are our upgrades.

“That’s not how I was taught, but that was my take on it. Not to say I was an upgrade of my dad or that my kids are an upgrade of me.

“That’s the approach that I take, to know that with the world the way that it goes, the kids that we bring up in today’s world need to be an upgrade.”

“Even if you had the best upbringing in the world, the best parenting in the world, there’s still room for improvement,” he added.

He also reiterated the importance of fathers reaching out for help if struggling.

“For so many years it has been seen as a weakness to stick your hands up. I find it’s the opposite. The more grief I get for talking about it , the more I want to stand up and talk about it. I know if I go quiet about it – what does that say to everyone else?”