The Duchess of Sussex has pulled out of a speech on child online safety in the aftermath of her dad, Thomas Markle Snr’s arrest in the US.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are visiting Brussels, where the couple were due to deliver a speech to the European Parliament today.
However, Meghan Markle’s team has now confirmed that while the duchess will also travel to the city and the event, she will ‘not speak.’
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.’
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The 82-year-old has previously denied allegations of child sexual abuse, describing them as ‘sick lies.’
Meghan’s visit to Brussels will be the first time she has been seen at a public engagement since the allegations against her estranged father emerged.
A source claimed that Meghan is not ‘strong enough’ for public speaking at the moment.
Speaking to The Telegraph, they said: ‘She’s just not strong enough, emotionally, to be doing any public speaking right now.’
Prince Harry, 42, is set to speak alone at the opening of the Lost Screen Memorial, a statue in honour of children who have died after online harm.
A spokesperson for the duchess confirmed: ‘The duchess is travelling with the duke to Brussels and will accompany him to the event but will not speak.’
The couple were first set to speak for up to 20 minutes between them during the rare appearance.
The duke’s speech is expected to steer clear of mentioning Thomas Snr’s arrest.
Meghan and Harry will also be shown the emotional memorial featuring photos of a child or a young person who lost their life to online harm, each encased inside a smartphone-shaped box.
The 82-year-old 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.
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