Meghan Duchess of Sussex first public appearance since father’s arrest, Digi Mart USA News (Brussels, Belgium): The Duchess of Sussex has made her first public appearance since her father was charged with the possession of child sex abuse material.
Meghan arrived at the European Parliament in Brussels with her husband, Prince Harry, where she is attending an online child safety event. It is part of the couple’s wider campaigning work supporting families who have lost a child due to online harm through social media.
Meghan was expected to make a speech at the event but she has pulled out, leaving Harry to speak on his own. Sources close to the Sussex family say the past two weeks have been emotionally challenging.
Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle, is currently under home detention and is subject to electronic monitoring after appearing in court in Florida on Friday charged with the possession of child sex abuse images. He has previously denied the allegations.
Meghan has been estranged from her father for several years. He did not attend her wedding in Windsor in 2018, citing “ill health” at the time.
When reports emerged about Thomas Markle last month, including claims he was in possession of child sex abuse images, Meghan released a statement saying she was “deeply distressed at the news” and hoped that “justice will be fully served.”
At the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday, Harry and Meghan will unveil the Lost Screen Memorial, which has moved to Europe after being launched in New York last year. Supported by their Archewell charity, it is a moving collection of images of young people whose parents believe they died due to harm they encountered on social media.
Each image is a photo of a son or daughter that a parent held in their phone.
The images include a photo of 13-year-old Breck Bednar from Surrey, who died in 2014. His parents believe he was groomed online via gaming and social media apps.
Another image shows Jools Sweeney from Gloucestershire, who took his own life in 2022. His parents say the time he spent on social media following the Covid lockdown contributed to his death.
BBC Breakfast spoke to Harry and Meghan in April last year when the Lost Screen Memorial first went on display in New York. “No matter how polarised the world is,” Meghan told the BBC, “one thing we can all agree on is that our children should be safe, all of our children should be safe.”
The couple want their campaign to put pressure on social media companies to better support families following the loss of a child. “These companies are getting away with it by saying we don’t need to give you disclosure,” an emotional Prince Harry told BBC Breakfast last year.
“You’re telling a parent, you’re telling a Dad and a Mum that they can’t have the details of what their kid was up to on social media because of the privacy of their kid – the parents who’ve seen their kid from the time they were a child. It’s wrong.”
Prince Harry’s speech on Tuesday will address the commitments made by tech companies and whether they have brought about any real change. He is not expected to directly address allegations against Thomas Markle.
He will also take part in a panel discussion examining the responsibilities of tech companies and the experiences of young people and their families.
