Brussels (Belgium) (AFP) - Prince Harry and his wife Meghan arrived at the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday to defend the protection of children on the internet, during a visit overshadowed by the arrest of the duchess's father for alleged possession of child pornographic material.

First modification: 11/10/2026 - 12:25

The Duchess of Sussex walked dressed completely in black along the red carpet at the entrance to the European Parliament, AFP reported. She was holding hands with her husband, dressed in a dark blue suit and a matching tie. They did not make any statements to journalists.

"Are you going to say something about your father?" a reporter asked Meghan. He didn't answer.

Later, when greeted by the Speaker of Parliament, Roberta Metsola, the Duchess seemed relaxed.

It is the first public appearance of the Duchess of Sussex since the arrest on Friday in Florida of her father Thomas Markle, with whom she has broken contact for years.

It was planned that both would speak during the event but in the end only Enrique would speak.

Meghan, 45, does not feel "emotionally strong enough to speak in public," said an anonymous source cited by the British newspaper The Telegraph.

The speech by the youngest son of King Charles III, according to one of his friends cited by the Times, will deal with "the protection of children" and "can be interpreted in multiple ways."

Thomas Markle, 82, was arrested Friday by FBI agents at the nursing home where he lived in Lakeland, Florida.

The Justice Department stated that he allegedly "kept child sexual abuse material, including sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls, in two Los Angeles-area storage rooms that he had rented for nearly two decades."

Authorities in the Philippines and Mexico are also investigating the discovery of child sexual abuse material in devices and warehouses allegedly linked to Markle.

A US judge ordered Markle to undergo a psychiatric examination because she believes he may be "mentally" incapable of "understanding the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him or of adequately cooperating in his defense."

Meghan Markle said in October that she was "deeply shocked" by the allegations against her father. He had also explained that he has not allowed any contact between his two children, Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, and their maternal grandfather in order to "protect" them.

- Harassment on networks -

At the European Parliament, Enrique and Meghan will inaugurate the "Lost Screen Memorial", an installation designed by their Archewell foundation, made up of giant telephone screens displaying portraits of children and adolescents whose deaths are related to social networks.

The couple has been engaged for years in an awareness campaign about the dangers that young people face on the internet.

During a visit to Australia in April, the Duchess of Sussex claimed to have been a "victim of harassment and attacks" on social media "every day for the last ten years."

Enrique will also participate in a round table on regulations regarding the protection of minors on the internet.

It is Harry and Meghan's first trip abroad since they returned to live in the United Kingdom in August with their two children, after spending six years in the United States.

They carry out their activities in a private capacity, and not on behalf of the royal family, of which they ceased to be a part in 2020.

© 2026 AFP

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