Prince Harry Just Majorly Practiced His Dad Skills on a Solo Royal Engagement

Baby Sussex’s arrival is just days away and Prince Harry is already getting a leg up on the whole parenting thing.

The 34-year-old Duke of Sussex attended the Barking and Dagenham Future Youth Zone in Dagenham, England, sans Meghan Markle yesterday. Since his pregnant wife was noticeably absent, Prince Harry took the opportunity to practice his dad skills in the wild. And what better place to do that than the Future Youth Zone, which provides after-school and skill-building programs for 8- to 19-year-olds?

Prince Harry kicked things off by proving he’s not going to be a regular dad; he’ll be a cool dad.

The Royal Family Twitter account shared a series of photos taken during the engagement and captioned it, “Meeting the young people that will use this @ONSideYZ and the other activities on offer, which include a rock climbing wall and team sports.”

The Duke of Sussex showed his radical side and chatted with young people in front of a neon rock-climbing wall. Then, he got to know some BMX aficionados. He also smiled jubilantly when some of the program attendees welcomed him with handmade crafts projects meant to show the children’s appreciation for Prince Harry. 

Then, the duke got up close and personal with some local teens and brought it in close for a group pic.

The prince even played a quick (and apparently spirited) game of rugby.