Prince Harry opens up about missing his mother after welcoming his son Archie

Prince Harry returned to work just three days after the birth of his son ...

The 34-year-old royal flew into Amsterdam — while wife Meghan Markle and their newborn son stayed home in Windsor — to launch the one-year countdown to the 2020 Invictus Games.

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During a bike ride with former soldier Dennis van der Stroon, Harry spoke about how fatherhood has made him feel the loss of his mum, the late Princess Diana.

In addition to both being veterans, the two both experienced the loss of their mothers.

"At a certain moment, we just got connected on this level," Dennis said of his time with the Duke.

"I told Harry about my mother and we talked about our shared experience of missing a mum."

"He said missing a mother is like missing some kind of security, how you need that as a son and it falls away when you lose your mother. He said he meets a lot of people in his work who have lost a mother, father, sister, brother or relatives and when he hears their story, as he heard my story, he said he doesn’t feel so alone."

Previously, Harry has opened up about how he feels he should have spoken up more about the impact that losing his mum had on his mental health.

"I really regret not talking about it. It is OK to suffer, but as long as you talk about it. It is not a weakness," he told the BBC in 2016.

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"Weakness is having a problem and not recognizing it and not solving that problem."

The new dad also revealed Archie's birth has given him a new purpose.

"We talked about how my wife, Mireille, is 20 weeks pregnant with our first child, a girl, and he told me how special it was that his son has just been born," Dennis continued.

"Harry talked about how having a small child was his new focus and new goal and I told him how a couple of months ago, I was struggling with my mental health but my wife’s pregnancy has given me a goal.

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"Above all, he said he was just amazed by the miracles in the world, and how his child has made a lot of people happy. He also told me he’s really happy that his son is so far very quiet. But he also told me not to make too many plans and that there’s no way you can plan for when the baby arrives."

We can't wait to watch Harry grow as a parent and how he continues to honour Princess Diana.