With the royal baby's due date getting ever closer, Prince Harry, 28, was clearly keen to practise uncle duties during the latest leg of his U.S. tour. The royal was spotted cooing over 10-month-old Sebastian Wilkowski as he launched a wounded war veterans sporting tournament in Colorado Springs this weekend.
Image: Kip Wilkowski
Proud mum Julia told reporters about her son's "cute" exchange with the Prince. "He came closer and did a little small talk with the baby, and he just reached out and then made a little raspberry and funny faces. "He made silly faces, and then he started blushing a little bit because he didn't think Sebastian would grab him". Julia added, "I think he'll make a great uncle. He was holding his hand – all the things you do with babies." Sebastian's father Kip, a retired Air Force also said the royal "is wonderful with children." The glowing reviews will be a boost to Harry, who will become an uncle when his brother Prince William and sister-in-law Kate Middleton welcome their baby in July. Friends close to the couple recently revealed the due date could be Saturday 13 July. Harry is currently touring the US ahead of the new Windsor arrival. His meeting with little Sebastian came as he inaugurated the Warrior Games, where wounded servicemen and women from the U.S. and Britain take part in sports competitions.
The royal, who returned from his second tour of Afghanistan in January, took part in activities and gave a passionate speech at the event. "I don't see why it wouldn't be possible to fill a stadium with 80,000 people not to watch the Olympics, not to watch the paralympics but to watch wounded servicemen fight it out with each other – not on the battlefield but in a stadium." Drawing on his own experiences in Helmand province he said he knew all about the "tragic consequences and life-changing wounds" that have affected comrades serving on the front line.
Highlighting the plight of soldiers has been a key theme of Harry's US tour. The royal paid tribute to fallen soldiers at the Arlington Cemetery in Virginia and also met injured war veterans at the Walter Reed National Military Center during the first part of his week-long trip.