Prince Harry Used to Imagine Life with a ‘Wife and Kids’ During His Time in the Army

Did Prince Harry manifest his life with Meghan Markle and their two children, Archie and Lilibet? He just revealed that he started (mentally) planning his family when he was serving in the British army, when he made the decision to delay marriage and kids until after his time in the service.

“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 told People. 

Harry is currently in The Hague overseeing the fifth Invictus Games, a competition for wounded veterans that he founded in 2014. “Every member of the Invictus community has experienced varying degrees of these things. I have tremendous respect for what they and their families sacrifice in the name of service.”

This is Harry’s first Games as a father—or in his words, a “proud papa”—and the experience is all the more meaningful for it. “Being a dad certainly adds another emotional layer to it,” he added. 

He and Markle made their first public appearance at the 2017 games in Toronto, back when they were dating. Said Harry of the experience, “The Toronto Games were our first time out and about publicly in an official way. We were dating at the time, so it was a lot to take in, but fortunately, we were with the perfect community for that.”