London - Trust Harry to cheer us up on a grey and fractious news day. Come spring, all being well, he and Meghan will have a baby.
The Duchess no doubt will look wonderful cradling the child on the steps of the Lindo Wing, like her mother-in-law Diana and her sister-in-law Kate before her. But let’s come clean, it’s actually Harry we’re delighted for, isn’t it?
For as these glorious pictures show, here is a boy who was born to be a dad.
In this photo made available by Kensington Palace, the princess and Prince Harry on holiday. Picture: AP
Few characters are more beguiling than a wild boy who gets into scrapes but does no real harm, then settles down to duty far more merry, open-hearted and tolerant of others than if he’d been a cautious prig all along.
Hearts have ached for Harry, too, as he opened up publicly about losing his mother: about walking behind her coffin, trying for years to blank out the sorrow, at last coming to terms.
Prince Harry talks with Australian war veteran Daphne Dunne during a visit to the Sydney Opera House in Sydney. Picture: AP
In 2016, when he was first with Meghan, he said he hoped Diana was looking down and approving of how he and his brother turned out. He added, "I’m sure she’s waiting for me to have kids so she can be a grandmother again."
Earlier, a bit wistfully after a few failed courtships, he had admitted: "I’ve longed for kids since I was very, very young. I’m waiting to find the right person, someone who’s willing to take on the job."
He has shown us and told us enough about himself to make us rejoice in the idea of him having a family of his own.
Not least because he should be good at it: one of the vital, underestimated qualities of good parenting is that you enjoy it. A reluctant, distant or runaway dad is a sad thing to contemplate. Every woman approaching the joys and unending anxieties of motherhood is delighted to find a partner who is properly, keenly, up for it.
Britain's Prince Harry reacts with a child. at the annual WellChild Awards which he attended with Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London. Picture: AP
These are not just photo-ops, children carefully selected for charm and whisked away if they misbehave. His charities report it is hard to move Harry on, that he notices any shy or confused child in the background and includes them, that a malnourished or injured infant moves him to lean in with instinctive comfort.
Babies and small children move us all to protectiveness, and toddler mischief makes almost everyone laugh. But there are a few good omens too for Harry’s future children as they get older.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Britain's Prince Harry kiss during the presentation ceremony for the Sentebale ISPS Handa Polo Cup at the Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club. Picture: AP
Who can forget his admission about growing up in a royal world of formality. "To be honest," Harry said, "dinner conversations were the worst bit about being a child and listening to the boring people around me."