A joint address at the Lost Screen Memorial
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will visit Brussels for the opening of the Lost Screen Memorial outside the European Parliament. The installation honors children who died as a result of harm linked to social media.
According to the Belfast Telegraph, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and Antonio Lopez-Isturiz, an MEP and first vice-chair of the Child Rights Intergroup, will speak before the couple. Harry and Meghan will share a 15- to 20-minute slot for their keynote address.
Harry is also scheduled to participate in a panel titled "Beyond Promises: Building A Digital Future That Works For Children." Audience members will be allowed to ask questions, but the media will not.
The couple opened a New York City installation of the memorial in 2025. Wearing a black pantsuit in tribute, Meghan tearfully embraced bereaved families. She asked parents to show her their children's images and paused in silence to remember them.
Meghan attended another opening in Geneva, Switzerland, in May, ahead of the 79th World Health Assembly. In that speech, she said: "Behind me stands The Lost Screen Memorial. Not statistics. Not avatars. Not data points. Children." She said their faces "ask the world questions we can no longer avoid," including when children could benefit from technology without harm to their well-being.
What has been reported about Thomas Markle Sr.
Meghan has largely stayed out of public view since the allegations concerning her father emerged. The Sun reported that her half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr., said he discovered child abuse images and videos among family keepsakes at his father's former home in the Philippines. According to the newspaper, he reported the discovery to local police and contacted FBI investigators in the United States in July.
The Philippine National Police said files in four storage boxes allegedly belonging to Thomas Markle Sr. included videos of alleged child sexual abuse and exploitation. Major General Wilson Asueta said ownership of the devices had not been confirmed. The devices comprised nine mobile phones, three SD cards, five hard drives and a camera.
Thomas Markle Sr. denied possessing child sex images in an interview with the Daily Mail, describing the accusations as "sick lies." According to the Belfast Telegraph, he is 82 and lives in a dementia care home in the United States. The newspaper reported that he acknowledged paying for sex in the Philippines but denied ever possessing child abuse imagery.
Meghan's statement and the 2018 letter
Last week, Meghan said she had learned of "disturbing allegations" about her father in 2018. She said she was shown a letter addressed to Scotland Yard containing "troubling" allegations and was assured that an investigation was underway.
People reported that the letter's author was Thomas Markle Sr.'s ex-wife, Roslyn Loveless. She divorced him in 1975 and died in 2024. According to reporting based on a copy of the letter, Loveless accused him of child sexual offenses and described him as a possible security risk to Harry and Meghan.
The letter also alleged that he told Loveless he visited the Philippines and Thailand "because 12-year-olds are legal there." That statement was an allegation attributed to him in the letter, not a description of the law.
Meghan said she was "deeply distressed" and was thinking of any children who might have been harmed. Explaining her estrangement from her father and her decision to keep him from having contact with her children, she said it was "for one reason: to protect them." She and Harry have two children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5.
Met Police refers its handling of the letter to watchdog
The Metropolitan Police could not find the original letter, People reported. Meghan had retained a copy and provided it when police requested it.
The force voluntarily referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct after failing to forward the correspondence to the appropriate overseas law enforcement agencies. Commander Adam Slonecki, who heads the Met's Protection Command, announced the referral in a statement on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026.
In that statement, the Met also said it was preparing referrals to relevant overseas agencies concerning the allegations in the letter. It said the process was underway and would be completed "in the coming days."
