Prince Harry says he and Meghan will have 'two children maximum' to protect the planet in Vogue interview

Prince Harry with legendary ethnologist Dr Jane Goodall
Chris Allerton
Megan White31 July 2019

Prince Harry has revealed that he and the Duchess of Sussex will have a "maximum" of two children as the planet faces a climate emergency.

In a Vogue interview with ethologist Dr Jane Goodall, the Duke discussed climate change and the impact that humans are having on Earth.

Harry talked to Dr Goodall about her conservation work and said he believes the planet is “borrowed.”

After she mentioned the birth of his first son, Archie Harrison, the prince responded: “It does make it different.

The pair discussed climate change and children in the wide-ranging interview
Chris Allerton

“I think, weirdly, because of the people that I’ve met and the places that I’ve been fortunate enough to go to, I’ve always had a connection and a love for nature. I view it differently now, without question.

“But I’ve always wanted to try and ensure that, even before having a child and hoping to have children – two, maximum.

“I’ve always thought: this place is borrowed.

“And, surely, being as intelligent as we all are, or as evolved as we all are supposed to be, we should be able to leave something better behind for the next generation.”

The wide-ranging chat features in the September issue which is guest-edited by the Duchess of Sussex.

Harry spoke at the leadership meeting of Dr Goodall’s charity Roots and Shoots in Windsor last week, saying that humans “have contributed to the problem, and now we need to be the ones to create the solutions.”

During the Vogue piece, he also said he believed natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and flooding, were nature giving us “clues.”

He added: “How many clues does nature have to give us before we actually learn, or wake ourselves up to the damage and the destruction that we’re causing?"

She’s in fashion: the Duchess working on the September issue of Vogue
@SussexRoyal

Harry said he believes “nature is a medicine and that “now, I know more and more people are being brought up in cities completely disconnected from the outside world.”

In the interview, the prince also warned about the threat of "unconscious bias" - where someone may make racist comments but not realise they are prejudiced.

Harry said a person's "perspective" on others was learned from "family", the "older generation" and even "advertising".

Dr Goodall, famed for her life-long study of chimpanzees, was asked by Harry how what she had learned about the primates had "impacted" on how she felt about people.

She replied it was "obvious" mankind had "inherited aggressive tendencies", but human brains were able to control anger.

The duke said: "It's the same as an unconscious bias - something which so many people don't understand, why they feel the way that they do.

Meghan has brought together 15 women for the cover
Peter Lindbergh for Vogue

"Despite the fact that if you go up to someone and say, 'What you've just said, or the way that you've behaved, is racist' - they'll turn around and say, 'I'm not a racist.'

"I'm not saying that you're a racist, I'm just saying that your unconscious bias is proving that, because of the way that you've been brought up, the environment you've been brought up in, suggests that you have this point of view - unconscious point of view - where naturally you will look at someone in a different way. And that is the point at which people start to have to understand."

In the September issue of the fashion magazine, which is the most-read annually, new mum Meghan interviewed Michelle Obama and discussed motherhood.

Asked by the Duchess what motherhood has taught her, Mrs Obama said that having two daughters "has been a masterclass in letting go".

Asked what she thought her 15-year-old self would think of her as an adult, Mrs Obama said she thinks she would be proud but "wouldn't let me off the hook either".

Entitled Forces for Change, the magazine's most important edition of the year brought together 15 influential women for the cover.

Influential cover stars include prime minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern, actors Salma Hayek Pinault, Laverne Cox, Jameela Jamil, Yara Shahidi and Gemma Chan, and models Christy Turlington Burns, Adwoa Aboah and Adut Akech.

Boxer Ramla Ali, diversity advocate Sinead Burke, Royal Ballet principal dancer Francesca Hayward, author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg and actress Jane Fonda complete the 15 cover stars.

The Duchess of Sussex said: “These last seven months have been a rewarding process, curating and collaborating with Edward Enninful, British Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief, to take the year’s most-read fashion issue and steer its focus to the values, causes and people making impact in the world today.

“Through this lens, I hope you’ll feel the strength of the collective in the diverse selection of women chosen for the cover as well as the team of support I called upon within the issue to help bring this to light. I hope readers feel as inspired as I do, by the ‘Forces for Change’ they’ll find within these pages."

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