Prince Harry Reveals When Archie and Lilibet Can Have Their First Phones And It Makes Perfect Sense
The Duke of Sussex says he and Meghan Markle are already bracing for the 'phone request' and plan to take a modern approach.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may be royals, but when it comes to parenting, their challenges sound remarkably ordinary. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are already preparing for a dilemma every modern parent dreads: the day their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, ask for their first phones. During a surprise appearance on the Hasan Minhaj Doesn’t Know podcast, released on October 29, Harry spoke candidly about how he and Markle plan to handle it.
The host, Minhaj, also a father, posed a question that hit home for many parents. What happens when the kids start asking for a phone? “We talk about it a lot,” Harry admitted, adding, “I think that because of what we know now, we will be way more cautious and hesitant of allowing our kids to have access to social media, but the problem is, so many parents don't have that awareness.”
It’s a topic the Duke has thought deeply about. He acknowledged that handing a child a phone today is no longer a simple act; it’s handing them a portal to the entire world, and all its complications. “Because in no logical, fair, ethical, moral world, should a parent have to consider this app, that sits on the phone—which by the way, having a phone for your kid is a really important thing—but the moment that you give them the gateway to everything else, kids will be kids," he said.
Harry went on to suggest a middle ground, perhaps a return to 'old-school phones' for basic communication, rather than the endless feed of apps and algorithms. The idea, he said, is to ensure that by the time their children reach that age, the online landscape looks safer than it does today. “There’s no reason why it should be,” he said, hopeful that progress will come before Archie and Lilibet grow older.
Still, the Duke is realistic about the pressures families face. Children who aren’t on platforms like Instagram or Snapchat, he pointed out, often end up feeling isolated or even bullied for being the odd one out. “A lot of parents feel as if they don’t have a choice,” he told Minhaj. When the host asked at what age kids should be allowed to join social media, Harry joked, "For me, it's 35."
“I think once your brain is properly formed. Once you are starting to learn who you are,” he said, before adding that while 21 might be a 'sensible' age, social media companies would never allow such limits. “They will throw tens of millions of dollars to lobby against that,” he said.
Harry and Markle, through their Archwell Productions' 'The Parents’ Network’ initiative, launched in 2023, built a community for parents and caregivers affected by online harms, including families who have lost children to social media-related issues. Their work in this area recently earned them the Humanitarians of the Year Award at Project Healthy Minds’ World Mental Health Day Gala.
