Meghan Markle is focusing on her family, her children, and her work as allegations emerge about her father, Thomas Markle Sr. Sources close to the Duchess spoke after she made her first public appearance since his arrest.
Meghan joined Prince Harry at an event at the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday, November 10. She was originally scheduled to deliver a speech on the dangers young people face online but chose not to after the allegations against her father came to light.
Sources describe her state of mind
A source told The Telegraph that she "was not strong enough" to address dignitaries. Other sources close to Meghan say she is throwing herself into her work and being a mother as she "follows the news as it unfolds."
They told People magazine: "Keeping her work commitments doesn't mean she's any less upset.
"She's trying to focus on her family, her kids and the work that matters to her. She believes she can do something good through that work. Having things in her life that she cares about and can put her energy into is helping her."
Event highlights online dangers
The Sussexes made the trip to Belgium to highlight the dangers children face on the internet, particularly from addictive social media algorithms and revenge porn.
Harry said in his speech: "Every single person in this room, whether parents or not, have a responsibility and a duty to be able to do what is effectively common sense and protect our children from these companies who clearly don't care.
"Every time you look at your phone, just remember that there's a child out there that is looking at that phone 20, 30 times more, probably considering taking their life because they don't know how to escape."
During the event, Meghan comforted Sandra Spitaels after she delivered a speech. Sandra's 15-year-old son Glenn took his own life in 2017 after a nude image of him was posted online. Meghan placed her hand on Sandra's back, occasionally rubbing it as they spoke. Harry also appeared to ask: "Are you OK?"
Thomas Markle Sr's arrest and detention
Their appearance was followed by news from the US that broke hours later about Thomas Markle Sr. He has reportedly been detained after cutting off his electronic tag following his arrest for possessing child sex abuse material, including images of himself with naked young girls.
Thomas Markle Sr was released on bail by a judge on Friday, November 6, subject to house arrest and wearing a location monitoring device. Travel restrictions were also imposed by the court in Tampa, Florida.
Writing on X, first assistant US attorney Bill Essayli said: "Four days ago, a federal judge allowed Mr Markle to remain out of custody pending trial. He was ordered to wear a location monitoring device.
"He allegedly cut the bracelet off at 1.45am last night. Release conditions are court orders, not suggestions. We are asking the court to revoke his release and detain him pending trial, and we will continue to prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law."
US Magistrate Judge Lindsay Saxe Griffin of the Middle District of Florida subsequently ordered Markle to be held in custody.
Markle Sr was arrested by FBI agents on Friday after they seized a haul of material from two Los Angeles storage units he rented for nearly two decades. He is charged with one count of possession of child pornography.
