Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been urged to step back from public life in the wake of allegations against Meghan's father, Thomas Markle Snr. The 82-year-old estranged father of Meghan was arrested and charged with possessing thousands of indecent images of children last week. Days later, he was put in prison because he removed an electronic monitoring device from his ankle.
Sussexes at European Parliament
Meanwhile, the Sussexes headed to Brussels to make a speech about child online safety at the European Parliament. While it was meant to be a joint speech, Meghan pulled out because she did "not feel strong enough" after her father's arrest. Meghan, 45, did accompany her husband to the event, where she sat in the audience as he addressed the EU parliament.
Writer and broadcaster Esther Krakue has suggested that the Sussexes are "struggling to find their way". Esther said she believes Harry, 42, and Meghan can't do right from wrong, before highlighting the allegations against Thomas Snr.
Criticism from commentators
"I think there should be a lot of grace because that's probably your worst nightmare, as a child, to have parents that can't be involved in their grandchildren's lives because of these unsavory, swirling allegations," Esther said, before urging the couple to take a step back from the public spotlight. "I do wish them all the strength possible to deal with that. But I think they need time to reflect and and fortify their souls," she mused. "They should probably take a break from a lot of these social engagements that I don't really think are achieving anything."
Esther then directed her criticism at Harry, stating: "Sitting in the EU parliament and listening to a bunch of nonsense about being the godfather of some sort of technology legislation. It's quite embarrassing if nothing else. Harry is not particularly bright. What is he supposed to achieve? Didn't he just leave the job that he had with BetterUp? They basically hired him so they could get the press coverage from having him associated with that organisation." Esther added: "I do wish them well and I do wish them peace, but my advice is just take a break and just take some time for yourselves."
Samara said she thought it was a surprise the Sussexes are attempting to influence legislation when they "don't have many brain cells to rub together between them". The pair were joined by writer and commentator Rakib Ehsan, who was also less positive in his assessment of Harry.
Claims of being 'directionless'
"I'm not sure how much policy expertise Harry and Meghan have if truth be told. And looking at that footage, it makes a very strong case for the UK not rejoining the European Union. It just makes the European Union look absolutely comical," he claimed. Rakib suggested their appearance at the European Parliament has shown the Sussexes are "directionless".
He added: "I don't what they they're truly looking to achieve. I don't really know what their goals are. I just find them to be quite irritating." Rakib went on to say that after their "failed" attempt at modernising the Royal Family, Harry and Meghan are now attempting to attach themselves to political aims and goals. "It just appears that they just they just lack the general sense of purpose and direction and they've only got themselves to blame really," he stated.
