Prince Harry Combines Mental Health Advocacy and Sport in Australia
The Duke of Sussex has merged his commitment to mental health awareness with sport during the second day of his visit to Australia.
Prince Harry shared insights from his personal experience of fatherhood, emphasizing the idea that children should represent an "upgrade" from the parenting their parents received.
Following this, he participated in an Australian Rules Football (AFL) session with players from the Western Bulldogs, a team central to Melbourne's sporting culture, and later visited the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
His wife, Meghan, who is accompanying him on the trip, did not attend the event and had no public engagements scheduled for Wednesday.
The couple, who are no longer working members of the royal family and are visiting privately, are balancing visits to charitable organizations with commercial interests.
It is reported that Meghan is exploring opportunities to expand her As Ever lifestyle brand in Australia during this trip.
Visit to Canberra and Indigenous Commemoration
Later on Wednesday, the Duke traveled to Canberra, where he participated in a traditional smoking ceremony at the Australian War Memorial.
During the ceremony, Harry laid a wreath and performed a smoke wafting ritual at the For Our Country memorial, which honors the military service of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Mental Health and Fatherhood Focus in Melbourne
In Melbourne, Prince Harry attended the launch of a report on the mental health of fathers with young children, produced by the charity Movember.
He greeted the audience with a "G'day everyone" and spoke candidly about his mental health journey after becoming a father, referencing his own 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,"
"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 also stressed the importance of fathers seeking help when 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?"
Movember Research and Advocacy
Dr Zac Seidler, Movember's global director of research, highlighted findings from the report indicating that one in five fathers felt extremely isolated after having a child, and three in five fathers were not asked about their wellbeing in the year following the birth.
He praised Prince Harry's dedication to the cause, noting the Duke shared personal stories discussed with his wife and therapist.
"He's really passionate about this, it matters to him, and he told us real stories that he had experienced, stuff that he'd spoken about with his wife, with his therapist.
He really just wanted to get to the heart of it and talk about advocating for change."
The report also revealed that 70% of participants did not want to parent in the same way as their own fathers.
"I think Harry was just talking about this seismic intergenerational shift that we're all experiencing,"
Indigenous Perspectives and Historical Context
Nathan Appo, the first Indigenous Australian on Movember's global board, commended Prince Harry for using his platform to empower people globally and promote positive change.
"It's hard not to be drawn to people like that,"
Appo, a Mamu man from Far North Queensland, acknowledged the ongoing challenges faced by First Nation Australians, many rooted in the legacy of British colonialism, an era linked to the Duke's ancestors over 250 years ago.
"As you travel around the world, connecting with Indigenous people to understand their history and what our people face regularly, the barriers that we face... and how that impacts on health is really important,"
"Building your knowledge to give you a good understanding of how you can change policy for the better is really important, and I think Harry is someone who does that."
Support from Australian Entertainers and AFL Experience
Among those attending were entertainers Lachlan Gillespie and John Pearce, known for their work with the Australian children's group The Wiggles.
"I think what's important is he's here talking about men's health,"
The Duke, who played rugby in his youth, also took part in an AFL training session under the guidance of Western Bulldogs player Adam Treloar.
Treloar described the experience to the BBC:
"I don't think we had enough time to really teach him, but he was super keen, asking how we hold the footy and where the laces go.
It was pretty normal. We had a great conversation. One of the teammates that was with me has four pubs and was talking about his pubs and maybe coming down for a beer if he has some spare time, which obviously he doesn't, but it just seemed really genuine and authentic."
