Prince Harry was every inch a doting dad on Wednesday as he took his two-year-old daughter Princess Lilibet to a 4 July parade in Montecito, not far from the £11million home he shares with Meghan Markle and their children.
In photographs obtained by the MailOnline, the Duke of Sussex, 38, was photographed cradling his toddler through the crowds. Princess Lilibet looked charming in a blue floral dress, wearing her auburn hair in adorable pigtails.
The Duke effortlessly carried his daughter with one arm, holding her close to his face as she wrapped an arm around her dad’s neck. The royal tot rocked cute red buckled shoes and knee-high white socks.
A body language expert Darren Stanton explained that the way Prince Harry held onto his daughter is telling of his caring approach to fatherhood.
“You can tell how caring he is as a father, and how seriously he takes parenting. From the way he is holding her, I can tell he has a lot of joy in that moment while being protective of her,” Darren explains.
Prince Harry’s outing with his daughter came hours after his father King Charles and stepmother Queen Camilla celebrated their Scottish coronation with a service in Edinburgh.
While the Prince and Princess of Wales were in attendance, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex chose to remain in the States with their children.
“It’s clear he is at his happiest when with his children and Meghan,” Darren explained. “He and Meghan show they are very tactile with their children and always have been. “Harry’s body language suggests he is very much a hands-on father, and it’s important to him to be that way with his children. He doesn’t hold back from that.”
The outing marks the first time Princess Lilibet has been seen in public, other than personal photographs shared in Prince Harry and Meghan’s Netflix docuseries.
One heartwarming photograph of Lilibet aired in episode four that caused particular excitement – it marked the first time the public had caught sight of the Princess’ beautiful golden hair that matched her father’s.
Meghan reflected on what it’s like raising two children under three in an episode of her Archetypes podcast released in 2022.
At the time, she said: “Lili has just started walking. She’s a year and a couple of months old. Archie is just three years old – so yeah, I’m in the thick of it, toddling.”
