This Is Why Prince Harry Is Not Taking Paternity Leave After the Birth of His Son Archie

Even though Prince Harry has made it clear that he can’t “imagine his life without” his baby boy Archie, he has still returned to his royal duties, and has not taken a paternity leave — but is this common?

While Meghan Markle is said to be taking between three and five months of maternity leave, her husband, 34, won’t be doing the same, as he is already back on the road — he was recently in the Netherlands to promote the Invictus Games. However, there’s a reason why the Duke of Sussex isn’t taking time off.

In the U.K., new fathers are allowed to take up to two weeks of paternity leave, but since royal dads don’t usually have traditional jobs and working hours, they opt to not take the full time off, and instead return to work. Harry isn’t the first to do this — his brother, Prince William, didn’t kick back for a couple of weeks after the birth of any of this three children. However, the Duke of Cambridge did take a break when he was employed by the East Anglian Air Ambulance as a search and rescue pilot after Prince George arrived, but he still resumed his royal duties.

While the duke is away from his family at the moment, the former actress, 37, is still getting back to full strength. “Meghan is still recovering from the birth so doctors have recommended that she waits a couple of weeks before getting back into yoga,” a source exclusively told Closer Weekly. “She hasn’t had much time to herself since the baby was born, but to switch off she’s been meditating with [her mom] Doria [Ragland].”

The insider added, “Once her body has recovered she’ll be heading straight back to her private yoga studio at Frogmore [Cottage] — she finds that the practice not only keeps her toned but also helps her stay focused.”

As for Harry, he’s completely crazy about his little one. “How any woman does what they do is beyond comprehension. But we are both absolutely thrilled and so grateful for all the love and support from everyone out there,” he said shortly after Archie’s birth. “It’s been amazing. So we just wanted to share this with everybody.”

He may not be on paternity leave, but we know that Harry is spending every minute he can with his son!