Meghan Markle skips speech at European children's-online-safety event after father's arrest

The Duchess of Sussex was present at the opening of the Lost Screen Memorial at the European Parliament in Brussels, an event that commemorates children who have died after experiencing online harm. The appearance marks her first public outing since her father, Thomas Markle, 82, was arrested by FBI agents on allegations of possessing child sexual abuse material and placed under house arrest in Tampa, Florida.

Meghan Markle had previously said she was "deeply distressed" by the allegations and expressed a willingness to cooperate with authorities investigating her father. She and Prince Harry were scheduled to deliver a joint address on digital safety for children, but Meghan withdrew at the last minute. Sources reported she felt she was not emotionally able to speak publicly at that time.

Prince Harry delivered a 20-minute keynote, emphasizing prevention of online harm and criticizing tech companies’ privacy policies that can impede grieving families from accessing deceased children’s devices. He asked, "Why, when we ask whether it can keep a child safe, does everything suddenly become complicated?" and added that his focus is on preventing harm before it occurs.

During the ceremony, Meghan embraced Sandra Spitaels, who spoke about her son Glenn, a 15-year-old who died by suicide in 2017 after a nude image of him was posted online. Harry asked Spitaels, "Are you OK?" The Lost Screen Memorial, first launched in New York, features images of young people whose deaths are believed to be linked to online experiences and is supported by the Archewell charity.