3 Photos That Prove Prince Harry Will Make a Great Dad

Prince Harry (and his world-famous hugs!) made a room full of kids feel like royalty on Monday during the annual WellChild awards in London.

The prince swapped smiles and embraces as he made his way around the room at the annual event, run by the charity of which he is patron. The emotional ceremony honors the inspiring children who live their lives in the face of serious illness.

“All the amazing things that are going to happen in the future, it’s all going to be [kids]. I never want to lose touch with that generation,” Harry told PEOPLE in a 2015 cover story.

And his skills came shining through as the royal uncle to Prince George and Princess Charlotte mingled with families and kids at the reception preceding the awards ceremony at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.

The royal was as fun-loving and compassionate as ever as he made the rounds, sharing jokes with the young kids and putting smiles on their faces as he got to know the families.

“This is my tenth year as WellChild’s patron and of course I’m honored to be here at another awards ceremony celebrating the powerful work of this organization; each year, I have the privilege of meeting the children you see before you and spending time with their families and carers,” the royal said in a moving speech. “Many of the children and young people WellChild support have been dealt the hardest card imaginable in life, and yet their courage inspires the most incredible strength in those around them.”

After spending three hours at the event, the prince did not go home empty-handed either.

Erin Cross, a 7-year-old who has battled leukemia for five years, gave him a felt-tip pen picture of the two of them with a helicopter flying over head.

Erin, who hid behind her chair after feeling a little shy when Harry walked in, was soon coaxed out to talk about her picture, smiling as Harry told her: “You’re quite the artist.”

Harry and his girlfriend Meghan Markle both share a love of kids. Harry can’t resist sharing a special moment with little ones at royal events — and the feeling is mutual. He also supports several charities that work to better the lives of children all over the world.

Markle has also proven she has a way with children. She has traveled to Rwanda to work on behalf of kids. She also supports the international charity, One Young World. And she regularly posts sweet snaps hanging out with her friends’ kids during her downtime.

In April, Harry revealed that he’s ready to start a family.

“Of course, I would love to have kids,” he said in an interview with The Telegraph‘s Mad World podcast.

And he’s got experience, too: Harry also said he’s already a godfather to five or six of his friends’ children.

When asked if he was a good godfather, he says “I’d like to think so.”

“I think the key to that is to be able to grow up, but also be able to stay in touch with your childhood side,” Harry added.