Watch: Prince Harry fights back tears onstage at WellChild Awards for sick kids

Prince Harry was overcome with emotion on Tuesday when he spoke at an event for seriously ill children, welling up as he explained how the event pulled at his heartstrings now he was a father.

The Duke of Sussex briefly broke down as he made a speech at the WellChild Awards, which he attended with his wife Meghan Markle. 

Harry recalled his feelings at the awards ceremony a year earlier when Meghan was pregnant and the couple were contemplating how they would feel if their child became ill.

Fighting back tears, the sixth in line to the British throne looked down at the floor and was comforted by a television presenter onstage before the audience started to applaud.

"Sorry," he laughed, before continuing.

"I remember squeezing Meghan's hand so tight during the awards, both of us thinking what it would be like to be parents one day," he said.

"And more so, what it would be like to do everything we could to protect and help our child should they be born with immediate challenges or become unwell over time.

"Now, as parents, being here and speaking to all of you pulls at my heartstrings in a way I could have never understood until I had a child of my own."

Harry and Meghan welcomed their first child, a baby boy named Archie, in May this year. 

Reuters.