The important life lesson Prince Harry is teaching his children

(Image credit: 2022 Patrick van Katwijk)

After a relatively quiet period, Prince Harry was back in the spotlight last week, attending the Invictus Game - and sharing a sweet kiss onstage with Meghan Markle - and opening up about his late mother Princess Diana in an interview with US television.

He revealed he felt her presence now more 'than ever before' before opening up about the chaos of being a father to two small children.

Now, in a new interview with People magazine, the Prince has opened up even more about parenthood, and the lessons he is teaching Archi, who turns three in May, and Lilibet, 10 months.

He specifically shared how he will explain his 10 years of service in the British Army to them, which included two tours of Afghanistan.

'That I am grateful for every experience I had in and out of my uniform. That I learned how to be in true service for others. That finding your purpose is one of the most gratifying experiences. And that working hard should be fulfilling and rewarding at the same time,' he said.

The Duke of Sussex added he wanted to leave the army before starting a family, to avoid any separation or heartache.

'Being a dad certainly adds another emotional layer to it. When I was in the Army, I promised myself I would be out before having a wife and kids, because I couldn't imagine the heartache of being apart for so long during deployment, the risk of possibly getting injured and the reality that my family's lives could be changed forever if that happened,' he said.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been understandably private about their family life, occasionally giving us glimpses, such as when Harry revealed how cheeky Archie was.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.