Happy Father’s Day! Here are our favourite photos of royal dads being great parents

June 20, 2021 - 09:57 BST hellomagazine.com

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Happy Father's Day! Dads are treasures who help guide us through life. They can be goofy, serious, and full of great lessons, and we wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for them. Royal dads are no exception.

Over the years, we've loved watching members of "The Firm" have kids and delight in their children's happiness and success - and seeing those children grow up and have their own kids has brought us no end of joy.

Click through the gallery to see decades of our favourite royal father moments, from Prince Philip to Prince Harry!

Photos: © Getty Images

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Prince Philip often read to his children when they were young.

In the 2011 documentary Prince Philip at 90, Princess Anne revealed that her father made “regular efforts” to be there when his children were being put to bed.

“Bedtime stories are things that children probably don’t get so much nowadays but were very important in my day,” she said, according to the Daily Mail.

We love this photo of Anne, who would have been one or almost just about that age at the time, playing with her dad’s face in 1951!

Photo: © Keystone/Getty Images

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Before Elizabeth became the Queen, she and Philip lived in Malta

Charles and Philip have been described as having very different temperaments, but there's no doubt Philip was a loving father to the Prince of Wales. Here he is holding his eldest son's hand in Malta in 1951, while he was there to relinquish command of the Royal Navy Frigate, HMS Magpie.

Photo: © Fisher/Central Press/Getty Images

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Look at the joy on Philip’s face! The Duke of Edinburgh’s second son and third child, Prince Andrew, was born in 1960. Here he is enjoying time with his big sister and dad at Balmoral when he was just six months old.

Photo: © Keystone/Getty Images

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Philip has been heavily involved in all of his children’s lives. Here he is spending quality time with a young Prince Edward at a mine in Canada in 1976.

Photo: © Anwar Hussein/Getty Images ’

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Charles became a father for the first time when he was 35, and the world was overjoyed when he and Princess Diana emerged from the Lindo Wing at St. Mary’s Hospital in London and he was carrying his newborn son! Philip wasn’t present at Charles’s birth, but Charles was there to see his son, Prince William, come into the world.

“I am so thankful I was beside Diana’s bedside the whole time because by the end of the day I really felt as though I’d shared deeply the process of birth and as a result was rewarded by seeing a small creature which belonged to us even though he seemed to belong to everyone else as well!” he said of the experience.

Photo: © Getty Images

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Nearly a year later, the proud papa posed with his adorable little boy (and a koala friend)! in a series of portraits.

Photo: © Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

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A few months later, Charles and Diana brought William with them to New Zealand, and Charles seemed thrilled when his son got up and tried to walk during the visit!

Photo: © Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

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While Diana seemed unimpressed by her son sticking his tongue out during a temper tantrum in this photo taken in December 1983, Charles looked pretty amused! Being one is hard!

Photo: © Anwar Hussein/Getty Images

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Doting dad Charles has always been heavily involved in both of his sons' lives. Here he is pushing William on a swing at Kensington Palace in 1984, just before William turned two!

Photo: © Anwar Hussein/Getty Images

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Who can forget this adorable interview? Shortly after Prince Harry was born, Charles and Diana invited interviweres into Kensington Palace to talk about their lives. William and Harry charmed playing the piano, and Charles got in on the fun!

Photo: © Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

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This adorable moment between Charles and his sons was captured during the Beating Retreat just before Trooping the Colour in 1989. We imagine Charles spent it explaining to his sons why it was all happening and detailing the significance of the spectacle. Harry seems blown away by it all!

Photo: © Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty Images

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Charles has never been shy about showing his sons affection. Here he is hugging William goodbye at a V-E Day event in May 1995.

Photo: © Tim Graham Picture Library/Getty Images

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Charles worked hard to instill his love of the great outdoors in his sons from an early age. Here they are on holiday at Balmoral in 1997.

Photo: © Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty Images

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Good dads are there for their kids during the happy times and the sad times. Charles was a pillar of support for William and Harry when they lost their mother, Princess Diana, in 1997. “One of the hardest things for a parent to have to do is to tell your children that your other parent has died,” Harry said in the BBC documentary Diana, 7 Days. “How you deal with that, I don’t know.”

Harry said he was grateful to Charles for what he did for him and William during this tough time.

“[Our dad] was there for us — he was the one out of two left, and he tried to do his best and to make sure that we were protected and looked after,” he added. “But he was going through the same grieving process as well.”

Photo: © Anwar Hussein/Getty Images

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Oh, Canada! Charles had a great time with his sons, trying on Canadian Olympic gear for the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, in the same year in British Columbia.

Photo: © Tim Graham Picture Library/Getty Images

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Charles and his sons love skiing, and it’s always been very clear that Charles loves his sons, and they also love him.

Photo: © Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty Images

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Charles is retired from polo play now, but he made sure to pass his love of the sport on to his sons.

Photo: © Anthony Harvey/Getty Images

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Prince Edward sadly wasn’t by his wife Sophie’s side when their daughter, Lady Louise Windsor was born in 2003. Louise was born premature and he was in Mauritius at the time, but he rushed home to be with her and her mom, and looked so happy to have met his daughter while the family posed on the steps of Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey!

Photo: © Getty Images

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Edward was just as thrilled when his son, James, Viscount Severn, was born in 2007.

Photo: © Getty Images

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It’s a moment we’ll always remember: How joyful William and Duchess Kate/a> looked when they emerged from the Lindo Wing at St. Mary’s Hospital in London with Prince George. They both look so proud!

Photo: © Chris Jackson/Getty Images

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Prince William looked so happy holding George at his christening in 2011!

Photo: © John Stillwell/AFP/Getty Images

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William looked completely adorable carrying George onto a flight from New Zealand to Australia during the Cambridges's tour down under in 2014.

Photo: © Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

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How cute is this picture of George meeting a bilby named George in Australia in 2014? The Georges don't seem that impressed with each other, but it's still adorable!

Photo: © Chris Jackson/Getty Images

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Matchy matchy! George and his dad dressed in similar shades of blue when William took his son to meet newborn sister Princess Charlotte at the Lindo Wing at St. Mary's Hospital in London in 2015.

Photo: © Chris Jackson/Getty Images

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What a cute moment between father and son during the 2015 Trooping the Colour! Grandpa Prince Charles seems quite touched to see his grandson enjoying his balcony debut!

Photo: © Getty Images

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So sweet! William beams as he holds his eldest son's hand while mom Kate Middleton pushes Charlotte in a pram on their way to her christening in 2015.

Photo: © Chris Jackson - WPA Pool/Getty Images

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William was just as into the flypast as his kids were during Trooping the Colour in 2016!

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Too cute! Do you remember your dad showing you planes? George and William shared this sweet moment at the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in 2016.

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William charmed royal watchers everywhere when he helped George and Charlotte make balloons at a party in Canada in 2016!

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As part of his and Kate's goal to have their children live as normal a life as possible, William brought George to his first day of school at Thomas's Battersea in 2017. The little prince was understandably nervous, but it looks like William and his teacher put him at ease!

Photo: © PA

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William, George and Charlotte looked thrilled to be heading to the hospital to see Kate and the children's little brother, Prince Louis, just after he was born in April 2018.

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Is it really any wonder Prince William was nominated for a parenting award this year? He's such a standup dad, as we can clearly see here with his kids during Louis's christening last year.

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We love how proud William is of his children! He seemed totally thrilled Louis had already perfected his royal wave during Trooping the Colour in June 2019.

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Given Mike and Zara's sporty natures, it's not surprising their kids spend so much time outside! Here's Mia on her dad's shoulders in 2015.

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Mia seemed to be getting a kick out of playing polo with her dad in 2016!

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Royals are just like us! You've totally done this to a parent.

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Look at that smile! Prince Harry was overjoyed when he and Duchess Meghan welcomed Archie Harrison in May 2019.

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We loved seeing Harry and Meghan dote on Archie while in South Africa in 2019.

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Proud papa Harry was beaming in this sweet snap taken by Meghan that shows him holding his son while the Sussexes were spending time on Vancouver Island in 2019. Photo: Instagram/@sussexroyal