Prince Harry Admits He Didn't Expect His Kids To Inherit 'Ginger Gene': 'I Was Wrong'

Prince Harry didn't expect his kids to inherit his iconic red hair.

The Duke of Sussex appeared on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" Tuesday, promoting his memoir "Spare" on the day of its global release.

During the interview, Prince Harry admitted that he didn't expect his "ginger genes" to win out against his wife Meghan Markle's when they welcomed their children.

"I actually really, genuinely thought at the beginning of my relationship [with Meghan] that should this go the distance and we have kids that there's no way the ginger gene will stand up to my wife's genes, but I was wrong!" the royal told host Stephen Colbert.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex share two children — son Archie, 3, and daughter Lilibet, 1. Both have red hair.

"Go gingers," Prince Harry added while pumping his fist.

When the late-night host asked if he sees his parents or grandparents in his children, Prince Harry said Archie and Lilibet "definitely" take after his late mother, Princess Diana.

"The Spencer gene is very, very strong," he continued. "The ginger gene is a strong one."

All three of Princess Diana's siblings — Lady Jane Fellowes, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Charles, 9th Earl Spencer — have naturally red hair, according to People.

In his and Markle's Netflix docuseries "Harry & Meghan," which debuted last month, Prince Harry said he sees "a lot of" Princess Diana in his little girl, describing Lilibet as "very Spencer-like" due to her "blue, blue, blue eyes" and "golden, reddish hair."

As for Archie, the duke said, "I think, at the moment, I see a lot of my wife in [him]."

The Sussexes welcomed their son in May 2019 while living in the U.K. and their daughter in June 2021, more than a year after they had stepped back from royal duties and moved to California.

In his book, Prince Harry also touched on how his older brother Prince William's resemblance to their mother Diana appeared to have "faded with time."

Prince Harry described the moment following the funeral of their grandfather, Prince Philip, in April 2021 when he noticed how his sibling's physical appearance had changed in recent years.

"I looked at Willy, really looked at him, maybe for the first time since we were boys. I took it all in: his familiar scowl, which had always been his default in dealings with me, his alarming baldness, more advanced than my own; his famous resemblance to Mummy, which was fading with time," Harry wrote.

Some social media users took Prince Harry's words as a jab against his brother, with people weighing in about Prince William's current day resemblance to Diana and the Duke of Sussex's own thinning hair.

"The crazy part is that Harry is just as bald and [doesn't] look like Diana either," one Twitter user wrote.

"Yet [Prince William] still resembles [Princess Diana] more than [Harry] so I don't see the point of [Harry's] comment or why it matters. It says more about [Harry's] pent-up resentment and state of mind more than anything. I think it's sad the world is watching this unfold in real time like it's the next best reality show," another netizen added.

Prince Harry also discussed his "sibling rivalry" with Prince William in his book and in his recent interviews, including claims that his older brother told him to pretend they don't know each other when they went to the same high school.

In his sit-down with ITV's Tom Bradby, which aired Sunday, the royal said he sees his and his brother's dynamic in his children Lilibet and Archie.

"The gap between me and William was very similar to Archie and Lili," Prince Harry told Bradby. "And to see Lili obsessed with Archie and Archie like, 'No, no, Lili, I need my space. I need my space now.' I get it. ... I get how irritating the younger sibling can be to the older sibling."

"Spare" was released Tuesday.