• e-mail

Prince Harry has revealed he already 'can't imagine life' without son Archie  - but admitted the baby had kept him up last night.

The Duke of Sussex, 34, who welcomed son Archie with Meghan last Monday, opened up about life as a new father as he spoke to patients and their families at Oxford Children's Hospital today.  

Mother-of-two Ida Scullard, whose three-year-old son Emmett is in remission, revealed the prince had struck up a conversation after seeing she was cradling her 10-month-old daughter. 

'Harry asked me if she [my baby daughter] was over the stormy period as babies are supposed be grumpy for the first 10 weeks,' Ida said. 

'He said he's getting used to the baby and how Archie has fitted into family life. He said he just feels part of the family and he can't imagine life without his son.'

The Duke told another patient how his baby had kept him up last night. 

Later that afternoon the Duke of Sussex was commended for keeping Princess Diana's legacy alive as he visited the OXSRAD Disability Sports and Leisure Centre, which his late mother was pictured opening in similar touching pictures dating back to 1989.

Caring touch: Prince Harry speaks to a young boy and his family during the hospital visit 

Brightening his day: Harry showed off his playful side as he helped make a balloon animal 

Playtime: The Duke of Sussex was happy to sit on the floor and play with one young family 

Proud Dad! Harry beamed as he was handed a teddy for Archie on his arrival at the Oxford Children's Hospital. He was given the gift by former patient Daisy Wingrove, 13, seen right

Big hug: Prince Harry embraced Daisy, 13, as she gave him the adorably toy for baby Archie

Alan's widow Julia, who had been there when Diana launched the centre in 1989 was there to greet Prince Harry. 

Speaking about her memories of Diana's visit, she joked: 'The main thing I remember when Diana visited was that she said, 'what's through there' and then went into the gents lavatories!'

The Duke was then given a tour of the centre, starting with an exercise session.

He met a service user called Charlotte Robinson who was trying to compete a challenge using yellow and red cones, which he helped push towards her.

Harry cheered with the helpers when she succeeded.

Next, he greeted Isobel Warburton, who has cerebral palsy, and uses a special walking frame at the centre to keep her joints active. He asked what she liked best, to which she replied, 'walking!' She told him that she had been coming to the centre for four years. Using the centre helps her to stay mobile and has helped to her to make lots of friends.

Harry asked her, 'Do you love it here? Who is your favourite physio?'. She replied it was a physio called Harry, to which he laughed.

'Is he the one with the big beard, he knows we're talking about him!'

Realising he had been pointing to another physio named Dave, he worked out who the 'other' Harry was and congratulated him. 

Comfort: Prince Harry speaks to a young patient and his mother during a visit to the hospital 

The pictures brought back memories of Harry's mother Diana opening the same sports centre in 1989, pictured

Young talent: Harry listens to music with Esme, partially made by her, as he visits the hospital

Pictured: Princess Diana in Marston, Oxfordshire, Britain - 1989, opening the same centre Harry opened today

Afterwards Harry moved on to watch Rebound Therapy, where service users were using trampolines to help their mobility.

He knelt down to speak with Katie Goodwin, 38, who has cerebral palsy and finds that trampoline work helps with tight muscles. She asked how Archie was doing, to which Harry replied with sincerity: 'He's doing really well. Thank you.'

Remarking on her glittery socks, Katie said, 'I put them on especially for you Harry,' which made him roar with laughter.

Harry joked before moving to the next person: 'You've had a chance to catch your breath - now you need to carry on!'

Katie said afterwards: ' I have met Diana before - when I was 11 she came to my school. She said that I had lovely hair and a lovely smile. To meet one of her sons 27 years later is so amazing. When I told Harry I had met her he was really touched and said, 'that's lovely!' I said how lovely it was that he - and also William - were keeping her legacy alive. He said, 'we try.' Harry seemed so natural. I thanked him for being here. I found it quite emotional.'

He spoke to Alistair Hoddy who was exercising on a beanbag placed on the trampoline, remarking, 'This is a great beanbag. Is it your beanbag or have you borrowed it?'

He remarked on the simplicity of it, in an age when 'we think technology can solve everything.'

Looking around him, Harry added: 'I love this place. It's fantastic.' 

Children from a local primary school give Harry a card full of 'TOP TIPS' for his new baby, including reminding him to always change the nappy

Children from a local primary school give Harry a card full of 'TOP TIPS' for his new baby. Top Tip messages on the card reads 'Dont forget to change his nappy. Dont forget to feed him. Love from Toby'.

Already a natural! Showing his paternal instincts, new father Prince Harry crouched down to speak to two children waiting to speak to him at Oxford Children's Hospital this morning 

Thoughtful touch: Prince Harry spent time speaking to Daisy outside the hospital 

Made her day: One little girl beamed as the prince took the time to speak to her at the hospital 

Beaming: The little girl smiled up at the prince as he stopped on his way into the hospital today

Prince charming: Harry laughed as he spoke to Daisy Wingrove outside the hospital today

Prince Harry spent time chatting to youngsters on the Kamran Jabble cancer ward, named after a former patient. 

Emmett, three, of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, is in remission after being diagnosed with testicular cancer when he was just two years old.

He was at the ward with his mother and 10-week-old sister Ida.  

The Duke of Sussex brightened up patients' days by making balloon animals and playing with a dinosaur toy set on the hospital floor. 

The royal appeared in good spirits as he arrived for the visit earlier this morning, crouching down to chat to children who had waited to greet him outside.

He was presented with a teddy for Archie by former patient Daisy Wingrove, 13, who smiled as she handed over the gift. 

The teenager appeared to say something that tickled the Duke as he chuckled happily during the conversation.  

Harry is touring the hospital - a purpose-built centre for the treatment of children and young adults based at the John Radcliffe hospital site - to highlight the important work it does.  

Special gift: Daisy Wingrove presents Prince Harry with a teddy for baby Archie at the hospital

Fresh-faced: Prince Harry looked well rested, despite being busy with baby Archie 

Delighted: The royal smiled as he received the teddy, which will be given to week-old Archie

Light-hearted moment: Harry made Daisy smile with a comment on his way into the hospital

Dapper: Harry donned a grey suit jacket, chinos and a white shirt for the outing in Oxford, right, Diana in 1989, left

Warm welcome: Crowds gathered to greet the royal as he arrived at the hospital this morning

During the visit, the duke  met children and young people receiving treatment, and the staff caring for them, as well as supporters of Oxford Hospitals Charity. 

He visited teenagers on a ward specifically tailored to the needs of young adults and meet 13-year-old Mikayla, a WellChild award winner, who previously met the duke at the WellChild Awards in 2016.

Before leaving, Harry visited the hospital's school to meet students, taking lessons while undergoing treatment, and their teachers.

Finally, the duke visited Barton Neighbourhood Centre, a hub for local residents which houses a doctor's surgery, food bank, cafe and youth club.

Harry got a pop star's reception from hundreds of residents on a housing estate who turned out to see him visit their neighbourhood centre today.

So many children had made him cards congratulating him on the birth of his son, Archie, he struggled to carry them and turned forlornly to aides, asking them to take huge piles off him after pupils from three schools handed them to him individually.

Harry, 34, accepted the congratulations of well-wishers, including mother Fatma Sheikh, 43, a mother of three, who told him: 'You done good.'

Mrs Sheikh, originally from Tanzania, said after meeting him: 'I asked him how Archie was and he said he is doing well. I asked him if Meghan was well and he said yes, she is fine.'

The proud new dad seemed overwhelmed by one present for Archie when he visited Barton Neighbourhood Centre, which serves 5,000people on the tough Barton estate in Oxford where social deprivation levels are high.

Showing his support: Hospital staff waited to greet Harry on his arrival this morning

Taken with the teddy: Harry looked pleased with the new toy for his little son Archie

Thoughtful gift: It is believed the teddy was dressed in a t-shirt supporting the hospital

Prince Harry looked in high spirits as he laughed and pointed at the crowd, donning a smart grey blazer and crisp white shirt

Harry showed off his natural father skills as he accepted a drawing from an excited little girl

Harry was seen shaking a little boy's hands as he arrived for his visit in Oxford on Tuesday

Claire Waldron, who works as a caretaker and cleaner at the centre, had made Archie a gift from a varnished piece of rock that she had decorated with his name.

Claire, 38, decorates large stones and rocks and hides them for children to find on treasure hunts. She calls them kindness stones or rocks. When it was suggested to Harry that he could hide the rock in the garden at Frogmore House for Archie to find when he is older, he seemed taken with the idea.

'Can you imagine him finding it and saying: 'I've got a rock and it's got my name on'?' he said, already imagining his eight-day-old infant as a little boy. 'Thank you very much. I love that.'

He hugged Claire and patted her warmly on the back and mouthed 'thank you' again before he left the room.

Harry cut a cake and unveiled a plaque to mark a £1 million refurbishment of the centre funded partly by money from a new housing development and the rest by Oxford City Council.

Inside in the basement he watched teenagers taking part in a bridge-building exercise as part of a course designed to help young people develop leadership skills run by the charity Thrive Teams.

As two lads nearly lost their balance using a bread crate and a short, narrow plank to get over an imaginary river, Harry, no doubt a veteran of such exercises during his 10 years in the Army, cheered them on. 'You've got to hold on to each other. That's the point,' he said.

Upstairs on the ground floor, he met volunteers from The Oxford Food Bank, showcasing some of the 1 tonne of food they distribute each day to deprived communities such as Barton. 

The duke then visited Oxsrad Disability Sports and Leisure Centre, opened by his mother Diana, Princess of Wales in 1989

William met people who use its facilities including those taking part in the Rebound Therapy and physiotherapy programmes

Duke of Sussex interacts with a participant as he visits the OXSRAD Disability Sports and Leisure Centre

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex meets a participant of the Rebound Therapy session as he visits the OXSRAD Disability Sports and Leisure Centre

Their food, which would otherwise go to waste, is collected from supermarkets and wholesalers. They come to Barton three times a week and distribute supplies to the poorest families and provide ingredients for the neighbourhood centre's cafe to supply low cost meals fiecas little as £2 to the estate's residents.

'You collect 400 tonnes of food per year that would have been wasted?' Harry asked, before complaining about the waste caused by food manufacturers using sell-by-dates and plastic packaging.

'If you bought things loose, you wouldn't know the dates, would you?' he said. 'Can you tell me why anyone would want to put bananas in plastic bags?'

He suggested Britons needed to change their mindset to reduce the amount of packaging around food and told Cathy Howard, the food bank manager: 'It's amazing what you guys are doing.'

In the next room, local residents were enjoying a cheap meal made from food bank produce.

Harry went around the room, chatting to everyone.

One diner, Susie Wilkes, 48, asked him: 'Are you not joining us for lunch?'. 'I would have done but I wasn't invited,' Harry replied.

The Duke of Sussex gets a hug as he visits the community cafe during a visit to Barton Neighbourhood Centre in Oxford, England Tuesday

The Duke of Sussex was pictured as he visited a food bank during a visit to Barton Neighbourhood Centre in Oxford

The Duke of Sussex tours the kitchen as he visits the community cafe during a visit to Barton Neighbourhood Centre in Oxford