''Certainly, I felt a disconnection because my wife was the one creating life and I was there to witness it,'' he said at a Movember event at Melbourne's Whitten Oval on Wednesday morning.
''And I think for many guys, you try to think about what service can I provide at this point, because my work here is done to some extent.''
The Duke of Sussex and father-of-two was invited as the guest of honour for the Movember event, which was hosted at the Footscray home of the Western Bulldogs AFL team.
He attended the event without Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, to kick-off day two of the couple's four-day tour of Australia.
Dad to Prince Archie, six, and four-year-old Princess Lilibet, Harry said he saw his role as fostering the next generation, although he steered clear of making any direct references to his own father, King Charles, from whom he is estranged.
''I see parenting evolving over time. I think it always has, just as much as from my perspective, our kids are our upgrade,'' he said.
''That's not how I was taught but that was my take on it."
After a Q&A session, Harry joined the players on the field for a chat and kick of the footy.
Outside, crowds clamoured for a glimpse of prince, including parents who watched on after dropping their children off at the childcare centre next door.
Diehard Bulldogs supporter Rose Dennis doesn't consider herself a royal enthusiast, but she was delighted it was her club the prince chose to visit.
''I was coming here for training anyway so having Harry here is an extra bonus," she told AAP.
She pushed back against critics of the duke and duchess, who have accused them of using the quasi-royal tour as a money-making exercise, saying the pair were using their profiles for the right reasons.
Still, Bulldogs fans who arrived in the morning to catch their team practice were left annoyed when they missed the session due to being locked out during Harry's visit.
After the event, Harry will depart for Canberra for a number of engagements at the Australian War Memorial.
There, he will meet with Indigenous veterans and attend a reception for the Australian arm of his Invictus charity, and a Last Post ceremony.
The duchesses plans for the day have not been made public, although the pair will be side-by-side again when Harry jets back to Melbourne later on Wednesday.
The visit, four days in all, could be mistaken for an official tour, although the pair are no longer working royals and are visiting in a private capacity.
It marks their first trip to Australia since 2018, when they spent nine days travelling in the country.
Excited crowds gathered to greet the pair on Tuesday, meeting families and youngsters packed inside the foyer at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital.
On Thursday, Harry will join Meghan for the Scar Tree Walk, a cultural journey connecting traditional and contemporary Aboriginal cultures in East Melbourne.
Harry is then due to deliver a keynote speech at the InterEdge Psychosocial Safety Summit in Melbourne, tickets for which range from about $1000 to $2400.
The pair will fly to Sydney later on Thursday, where Meghan will headline an exclusive three-day women's retreat pitched as a "girls weekend like no other" with tickets starting at $2699.
The duke and duchess will end their trip in Sydney, where they will sail around the harbour and attend a rugby match.
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