Prince Harry may have found the perfect symbol of his children’s new British life, and surprisingly, it has nothing to do with palaces, royal titles or the complicated history surrounding his return to the United Kingdom; instead, it is a jar of Marmite and two children who apparently went from mocking their father for keeping it in the house to happily eating it on crumpets.

Speaking about life in Britain, Harry was asked about some of the things he and his family have been enjoying since returning to the UK, and his answer quickly became one of the more amusing revelations of the conversation.

“Gone for a walk. Lots of walks. Isn’t that the most British thing?” Harry said. But then came the confession that seemed to make him particularly proud.

“OK yes, Marmite on crumpets – please tell me that is a British thing because it has always been in my life and now the kids are eating Marmite on crumpets which is a big moment for me.”

For anyone unfamiliar with Marmite, it is a thick, dark-brown, salty yeast-extract spread traditionally eaten on toast, bread or crumpets. It is also famously divisive: you either love it or hate it, and there is very little in between.

That makes Harry’s confession even more amusing. He is not revealing that Archie and Lilibet have discovered some universally adored British treat; he is proudly announcing that his children have apparently developed a taste for one of the country’s most controversial breakfast staples.

And Harry knows exactly how much that represents. “They do, they do very much. They used to dis me for having Marmite in the house, but now we are in the UK; that is water under the bridge,” he said.

For Harry, this seems to represent something bigger than breakfast.

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Archie and Lilibet spent most of their young lives in California, far removed from the British childhood their father experienced, so watching them embrace something as unmistakably British as Marmite appears to have delighted him. The fact that they once made fun of him for keeping it in the house only makes the transformation more amusing.

And, naturally, the confession practically invites jokes.

Some might jokingly imagine Meghan and the children sitting down to a plate of Marmite-covered crumpets and wondering when they can get back to California for a more familiar American-style breakfast — perhaps simple toast with Meghan’s jam, or bacon and ham instead of the salty spread that has divided British families for generations. And has visitors asking, “What in the world is this?”

Of course, there is no indication that Meghan or the children are actually desperate to return to California because of breakfast. It is simply a playful contrast between the family’s American home and the distinctly British traditions Harry seems happy to see his children embracing.

Still, the joke almost writes itself.

After years of living in California, Archie and Lilibet are now experiencing a very different chapter of their childhood, with their father proudly pointing to walks, British food and Marmite on crumpets as evidence that they are settling into life in Britain.

And then there is the beans-on-toast story, which shows that not every British food tradition has received the same enthusiastic response.

Harry recalled that the children had previously reacted badly when he introduced them to beans on toast.

“That was in California. That was years ago. It didn’t go down very well at all,” he said.

Apparently, Marmite has succeeded where beans on toast failed.

It may sound like a tiny detail, but Harry clearly sees it as a meaningful milestone. His children are discovering foods and traditions that were part of his own childhood, and for a father who has spent years living thousands of miles away from Britain, seeing Archie and Lilibet develop their own connection to those traditions appears to mean something.

It is also an unusually lighthearted glimpse into family life.

There was no discussion of royal tensions, no dramatic statement about his father, no confrontation over the past and no attempt to revisit the arguments surrounding his decision to leave royal duties. Instead, Harry was talking about walks, crumpets and a food that British people themselves cannot seem to agree on.

And perhaps that is why the confession landed so well. For Harry, it was a “big moment.” For Britain, it was another chapter in the never-ending Marmite debate.

And for everyone else, it was a hilarious reminder that when it comes to Marmite, there really is no middle ground. You either love it or hate it.