LONDON, Nov 10 (Reuters) – Meghan, the wife of Britain’s Prince Harry, will no longer address a European Parliament gathering on child online safety issues on Tuesday, her first public event since her father was charged with possessing child sexual abuse photos.
The couple are still expected to appear in Brussels, where Harry will deliver a speech at the opening of the Lost Screen Memorial. A spokesman said he would not make any reference to the arrest of Thomas Markle, Meghan’s estranged father, in Florida last week.
The Daily Telegraph reported that Meghan, who said in a statement last month that she was “deeply distressed” about the allegations about her father, did not feel “strong enough” to speak at the event, as had been planned.
Thomas Markle was charged with possession of child sexual abuse photos last week, including photographs of himself with naked underage girls, found in rented storage units in California.
The 82-year-old denied the accusations of possessing child sexual abuse material when they initially came to light, telling the Daily Mail 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.
She said in her statement last month that 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 are expected to join European Parliament President Roberta Metsola at the opening of the Lost Screen Memorial, an art installation commemorating children who have lost their lives as a result of suffering harm on social media.
The royal couple first launched the memorial in New York last year through their charitable organisation Archewell, which they set up in 2020 after stepping back from royal duties and moving to the United States.
Their trip to Brussels follows an appearance in Nottingham in October, their first joint appearance since they moved back to live in Britain.
(Reporting by Kate Holton and Yoruk Bahceli; editing by Sarah Young)
