He’s as high as a kite, that Prince Harry.
Completely off his face.
A new dad who can barely believe what he’s just seen because, you know, you might know your partner’s going to have a baby, and you know that it’s been growing inside her for what seems like forever. But seriously, who can believe what just happened when one person – someone you love – just turned into two people. Right in front of you.
That’s some freaky, freaky shit.
There was something deeply familiar about Prince Harry’s giddy press conference this morning. The way he couldn’t stop jiggling. And didn’t know what to do with his hands. And even though he was standing in a cold stable, in front of people he generally can’t stand (The Media), he couldn’t fight off the giant smile that kept creeping back every time his mind had wandered back to what he’d just seen.
That’s how it should be, the morning after you’ve had a baby. No-one’s slept, you just lived through something completely overwhelming, and who even knows what life looks like now.
Prince Harry was every new dad in that moment. Well, any new dad who’s man enough to support their partner through the scariest, most wonderful, painful, high-stakes experience they’ll likely ever have.
Birth isn’t always easy on men. And yes, I can hear you mocking from here. Because, yes, it’s much less easy for the woman who’s actually delivering the baby. But for a man, this is a moment that isn’t at all about you, but your actions can make the most incredible impact.
When a woman is in labour, you can comfort or you can infuriate – and probably will do both in the space of 30 seconds – and you have to do it all while watching the person you love suffering.
It’s traumatic, and it can make a man look at a woman in a way he never has before.
As a warrior goddess. Obviously. A warrior goddess covered in unmentionable substances, screaming her head off and possibly making holes in the back of your hand with her nails.
“How any woman does what they do is beyond comprehension,” said Harry this morning, that smile never shifting.
Well, yes. Like many before him, Harry just realised that his wife is stronger than he could ever imagine. However that baby arrived the world, that’s not something he will ever do, and she just bloody did it. She might even do it again.
Listen to The Quicky team on how royals really give birth. Post continues after audio.
So all hail off-his-head Harry, who once made headlines for partying with girls in bikinis and wearing deeply inappropriate party costumes. Now, he’s a role model for new dads. A bouncy, happy, probably-needs-a-good-lie-down example of all the beauty and vulnerability that manhood can be.
Because having a baby is a Big Deal. And Harry isn’t pretending that it isn’t. He isn’t making blokey jokes about wetting the baby’s head. He isn’t wheeling Meghan out to pose for cameras hours after the most significant physical and emotional event of her life, blow-dried and smiling as if the whole undignified mess never happened. He isn’t playing it cool.
He’s “over the moon”. And he’s every good dad who ever stood before him. And he’d better get back to Meghan and the baby now, because this stable is no place for a man with increased responsibilities.
If this is the new public standard for fatherhood, then happy days, Harry, we hope your baby high lasts for ever.
Calling all mums who need to treat themselves. Take our quick survey for your chance to score one of three $100 vouchers.
Top Comments
Those wrote and approved this article obviously don't understand that the language and phrasing used are incredibly non-inclusive. 'In labour' and 'covered in unmentionable substances, screaming her head off and possibly making holes in the back of your hand with her nails.' only covers off those who've birthed vaginally. That's over 30% of mothers reading this who are excluded. For a womens website, that's pretty poor. Or does this site subscribe to the awful view that if you had a c-section, you've not really given birth?
Yes, this article is exceedingly divisive in its opinions about what is worthy of admiration. In its eagerness to beatify women who have children, it's offering an incredibly narrow, exclusionary point of view.
Look, it's lovely to see anyone happy - so good for Harry. But it's really unfair of the author to insinuate that a man who doesn't want to be present at, or actually witness the birth of a child isn't "man enough". It's not a sight that everybody wants to see, frankly, and men should not feel as though they *must* be at the pointy end of things when their partner gives birth. Similarly, if a woman doesn't want her partner watching, she should be able to say so, too. Doesn't mean they love or support each other any less - or that a man who doesn't want to watch birth is "unmanly".
Oh, and I'd also add that the snarky "he isn’t wheeling Meghan out to pose for cameras hours after the most significant physical and emotional event of her life, blow-dried and smiling as if the whole undignified mess never happened" line was totally uncalled for. It's not cool to suggest that women who choose to pose for photographs soon after giving birth are being coerced by their husbands or forced to do something they don't want to do. It's possible to support the choice of one woman without insinuating those who make other choices are wrong or disempowered, Holly - even if you personally don't agree with those choices.