Sussexes return to Brussels: Meghan attends memorial after father's arrest

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan appeared in public together in Brussels on Tuesday, marking their first shared event since her father was arrested on suspicion of possessing images of child abuse.

Harry spoke at the European Parliament during the unveiling of the Lost Screen Memorial. The installation features oversized smartphone replicas, each displaying the photograph of a child who died after suffering harm on social media. Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, accompanied her husband but did not take the stage. A person familiar with the decision said she withdrew from speaking because she was not emotionally strong enough for the moment.

The couple's appearance follows developments in Thomas Markle Sr.'s legal case. The 82-year-old appeared in a Florida courtroom on Friday, charged with possessing child sexual abuse material. He has previously denied the allegations, calling them sick lies. The charges surfaced last month against the former reality television personality.

Harry urged technology companies to increase transparency regarding children online. He specifically asked firms to help parents access their children’s devices and accounts to understand what happened after a death. He noted that many parents face long delays, sometimes lasting eight years, before they can retrieve a deceased child’s phone data.

“Because of the company’s privacy policies, the parents were blocked from finding out how their child died,” Harry said. “That cannot be right.” He called on platforms to avoid showing children content they would not show their own children, emphasizing the need for better support for families navigating digital grief.