Brussels: Meghan, the wife of Britain’s Prince Harry, cancelled her plans to address a European Parliament gathering on child online safety issues on Tuesday. The event would have marked her first public appearance since her father was charged with possessing child sexual abuse photos.
A spokesperson for the couple also said that Harry would not refer to the arrest of Thomas Markle, Meghan’s estranged father, at the event, which began after 9 am (0800 GMT).
The couple arrived in Brussels, where Harry is scheduled to deliver a speech at the opening of the Lost Screen Memorial, an art installation commemorating children who died as a result of harm suffered on social media.
They were greeted by waiting delegates and a large group of journalists, who shouted questions at Meghan, including asking how she was feeling.
The Daily Telegraph reported that Meghan, who said in a statement last month that she was “deeply distressed” by the allegations against her father, did not feel “strong enough” to speak at the event as planned.
US authorities charged Thomas Markle with possession of child sexual abuse photos last week. The material included photographs of himself with naked underage girls, which were found in rented storage units in California.
The 82-year-old denied the allegations of possessing child sexual abuse material when they came to light, telling the Daily Mail that they were untrue and “sick lies.”
Meghan has been estranged from her father since the run-up to her marriage to King Charles’ younger son, Harry, in 2018.
In her statement last month, she said she had known about the allegations against him since 2018 and had prevented him from having contact with her children, Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, to protect them.
In Brussels, Harry and Meghan were opening the Lost Screen Memorial.
The royal couple launched the memorial in New York last year through their charitable organisation, Archewell, which they established in 2020 after stepping back from royal duties and moving to the United States.
Their visit to Brussels follows an appearance in Nottingham in October, marking their first joint appearance since they moved back to live in Britain.
