The Sussexes arrived in Brussels for a child online safety campaign, where the royal couple were expected to deliver a joint speech before Meghan pulled out of the talk.
The couple’s speech was changed to include only Harry on the podium due to the aftermath of the arrest of Meghan’s dad, Thomas Markle Snr, on Friday.
Meghan’s team confirmed that while the duchess will also travel to the city and accompany him to the event, she ‘will not speak.’
A source claimed that Meghan is not ‘strong enough’ for public speaking at the moment.
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Speaking to The Telegraph, they said: ‘She’s just not strong enough, emotionally, to be doing any public speaking right now.’
On arrival, the Sussexes held hands but did not react when asked for a comment on the situation.
Prince Harry took to the podium in front of the guests, saying that a child’s safety ‘should not depend’ on what country they are based in at the opening of the Lost Screen Memorial.
It features photos of a child or a young person who lost their life to online harm, each encased inside a smartphone-shaped box.
Meghan then embraced a mother who delivered a powerful address after losing her child, whose pictures were circulated online.
The duke appeared emotional as he told social media companies that ‘don’t put anything in front of our children that you wouldn’t put in front of your own children.’
The visit to Brussels will be Meghan’s first public engagement since the allegations against her estranged father emerged.
It comes after Thomas Snr, 82, appeared in a Florida court charged with possession of child sex abuse material.
The US Department of Justice said he had been arrested due to a federal complaint claiming the material included ‘sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls, in two Los Angeles-area storage units he rented for nearly two decades.’
The 82-year-old has previously denied allegations of child sexual abuse, describing them as ‘sick lies.’
Thomas 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 was launched after his son, Thomas Markle Jnr, reported he had found boxes of material containing alleged child sex abuse material in his dad’s home in the Philippines, followed by a raid of a storage unit in Mexico allegedly belonging to the 82-year-old.
Meghan, 45, cut contact with her father in 2018 after he was caught selling pictures to the paparazzi.
She has previously described the allegations against him as ‘troubling and disturbing.’
The duchess added 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.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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