How Prince Harry Wants To Parent Archie Differently From How He Was Brought Up

Prince Harry has made a lot of changes to his life in the past few years, and he isn't stopping anytime soon.

One of his biggest changes came when he and his wife Meghan Markle stepped down as senior royal family members in January 2020. Shortly after, the couple, along with son Archie, relocated from the U.K. to Santa Barbara, California, where they've since worked to distance themselves from their royal status. 

Of course, Harry's big changes came at a big cost. Amid speculation of tension between Harry, Meghan, and the rest of the royal family, the drama hit an all-time high when the couple sat down with Oprah Winfrey for a tell-all interview. During this interview, they spared no detail about life as royals, the bullying that Meghan faced from the U.K. media, and even alleged racism within the royal family. 

In the aftermath of the interview, things have been even tenser between Harry and his family. While Harry did return home for his grandfather Prince Philip's funeral, things were reportedly icy between him, Prince William, and Prince Charles. 

As it turns out, Harry might be content with keeping distance from his family, especially Charles. Being a father of a young son himself (and soon-to-be father of a daughter), Harry has been reflecting on how he wants to do things differently than his father when it comes to parenting. Keep reading to learn what he said about his parenting style.

Prince Harry is opening up about his own upbringing and how he wants to do things differently with his own children.

On an episode of "Armchair Expert," Harry got candid with host Dax Shepherd. The duke expressed not wanting to repeat his own upbringing when it comes to his kids with Meghan Markle. "Isn't life about breaking the cycle?" Harry said in regards to switching up his parenting style.

"There's no blame. I don't think anyone should be pointing the finger and blaming anyone," Harry clarified, before explaining that he doesn't want to pass on his own "pain" to his kids. "Certainly, when it comes to parenting, if I've experienced some form of pain and suffering because of the pain and suffering that perhaps my father or parents suffered," Harry continued. "I'm gonna make sure I break that cycle so that I don't pass it on."

Harry also went on to explain that he wants to do his best to shield his kids from much of the negativity that he experienced growing up. "As parents, we should try and make sure we're doing the most we can," he said. "Like, 'That happened to me. I'm gonna make sure that doesn't happen to you.'"

Though Harry has made it clear that he doesn't have hostility towards his father, Prince Charles, it seems that he might continue to maintain a distance from him and the royal family altogether.