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Archive photo · 8 March 2024Meghan Markle Returns With Prince Harry at Brussels Parliament After Thomas Markle Sr. FBI Arrest
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Meghan and Prince Harry attend Brussels European Parliament for Lost Screen Memorial on online safety. Meghan's first public appearance since her father Thomas Markle Sr. was arrested.
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Brussels appearance after arrest
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, made her first public appearance on Tuesday since her father, Thomas Markle Sr., was arrested by the FBI last week, as she joined Prince Harry at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, for the opening of the Lost Screen Memorial.
Harry delivered the speech solo after Meghan pulled out of the joint address on Monday, and the event centered on online child safety as the couple were photographed walking into the Parliament building together.
Federal authorities said illegal materials were allegedly found in storage units rented by Markle in Los Angeles, and ABC News said Markle appeared at the U.S. District Court in Tampa, Florida, on Friday after his arrest.
Markle did not enter a plea and was released on his own recognizance, with a judge ordering him to home detention with electronic monitoring, while Meghan has not commented publicly on her father’s arrest.
Harry speaks, Meghan stays silent
Prince Harry told the European Parliament that children "deserve to feel safe wherever they are," and he said he and his wife stood alongside parents who had lost children to online harm. Meghan arrived at the European Parliament in Brussels with Harry, but she did not deliver the planned joint speech, and the BBC said she made her first public appearance since her father, Thomas Markle, was charged with the possession of child sex abuse material.
Roya Nikkhah, royal editor of Britain's Sunday Times newspaper and a CBS News contributor, said, "I know from people close to her that she is very, very emotional, and that is the reason why she pulled out of giving the speech along with Harry today in Brussels." Both Meghan and Harry were met by waiting delegates and a large press pack, with journalists shouting to ask Meghan how she was feeling, and the couple made no comment.
Online safety focus and fallout
Harry’s Brussels remarks tied the Lost Screen Memorial to the perils of online abuse and exploitation of children, and the event was described as a tribute to children who have died as a result of digital and social media harms. Meghan pulled out of the joint address after news of her father’s arrest broke, and Markle Sr. was arrested in Florida on Friday on one count of possession of child sex abuse material.
Harry made no reference to his father-in-law in his address in Brussels, and he asked, "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?" Meghan did not feel "emotionally strong enough to speak in public," and Harry’s speech focused on "protecting children" and being "interpreted in multiple ways."
