The Duchess of Sussex has withdrawn from a planned speech on child online safety in Brussels, with her team confirming she will travel to the event but not address the European Parliament. The decision follows the arrest of her father, Thomas Markle Snr, in the United States.
Meghan, 45, is accompanying Prince Harry to the Belgian capital, where the couple were due to deliver a joint speech. A spokesperson for the duchess said: “The duchess is travelling with the duke to Brussels and will accompany him to the event but will not speak.”
Emotional Strain After Father’s Arrest
The 82-year-old appeared in a Florida court charged with possession of child sex abuse material. The US Department of Justice said the federal complaint alleged the material included “sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls, in two Los Angeles-area storage units he rented for nearly two decades.”
Thomas Markle Snr has previously denied allegations of child sexual abuse, describing them as “sick lies.” A source told The Telegraph: “She’s just not strong enough, emotionally, to be doing any public speaking right now.”
Harry to Speak Alone at Memorial
Prince Harry, 42, is set to deliver the speech alone at the opening of the Lost Screen Memorial, a statue honouring children who have died after online harm. The duke’s address is expected to avoid mentioning Thomas Snr’s arrest. The couple were originally scheduled to speak for up to 20 minutes between them.
During the visit, Meghan and Harry will be shown the memorial, which features photos of children who lost their lives to online harm, each encased in a smartphone-shaped box.
Legal Proceedings and Background
Thomas Markle Snr was ordered into home detention and electronic monitoring on Friday at his court appearance before being released. He is banned from travelling outside the Middle District of Florida and the Central District of California.
The investigation began after his son, Thomas Markle Jnr, reported finding boxes of material containing alleged child sex abuse material in his father’s home in the Philippines, followed by a raid of a storage unit in Mexico allegedly belonging to the 82-year-old.
Meghan cut contact with her father in 2018 after he was caught selling pictures to the paparazzi. She has described the allegations against him as “troubling and disturbing,” adding that her “sincerest hope is that justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children.” Harry and Meghan moved back to the UK from California this autumn, in time for Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet to start the school term in England.
