Prince Harry delivered remarks on child online safety in Brussels on Tuesday, days after his father-in-law, Thomas Markle Sr., was arrested on child pornography charges in Florida.
The Duke of Sussex, 42, spoke at the opening of the Lost Screen Memorial, an installation at the European Parliament honoring children who died as a result of online abuse or social media harm. He took the stage alone after his wife, Meghan Markle, withdrew from delivering her own planned remarks.
“How did we reach a point where we can build technology capable of extraordinary things, yet still struggle to make it safe for a child?” Harry asked. “Why, when we ask whether it can keep a child safe, does everything suddenly become complicated?”
He said he was not calling for a “world without technology,” but for one where children can go online safely. “All children should be able to go online and discover something wonderful. A friend. An interest that becomes a passion. A place where they feel understood,” he said. “They deserve to feel safe wherever they are. In a classroom. On a playground. At any time, no matter where they are.”
Meghan, 45, attended the event but did not speak. According to a report from The Telegraph on Monday, she canceled her portion of the program after her father’s arrest. “She’s just not strong enough, emotionally, to be doing any public speaking right now,” a source told the outlet. The couple nonetheless continued with their broader trip to Belgium as scheduled.
Thomas Markle Sr., 82, was taken into custody by federal agents on Friday and charged with possession of child pornography. He was released on bail following a hearing Friday and returned to the Lakeland, Florida, dementia care facility where he resides. He has previously denied the allegations against him as “sick lies.”
Photographers captured Harry and Meghan holding hands as they arrived at the Brussels event Tuesday, with Meghan dressed in all black. She did not respond when a reporter asked, “Meghan, how are you feeling? How are you coping?”
Meghan issued a single public statement on her father’s legal situation last month, after her brother, Thomas Markle Jr., allegedly reported finding hundreds or thousands of illicit photos in their father’s home, as well as disturbing material in multiple storage units.
“I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications’ distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children was for one reason: to protect them,” Meghan wrote.
If you or someone you know is affected by issues raised in this story, you can call the Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-330-0226.
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