Meghan Markle has withdrawn from a planned speech because she is “not strong enough emotionally” for a public speaking engagement in the wake of her father’s arrest.
That’s the word from The Telegraph, which cites a source as having made it clear that Meghan is not in the right frame of mind to be speaking to the public after Thomas Markle Sr. appeared in court last Friday, November 6, charged with possession of child abuse material.
The Duchess of Sussex is scheduled to join her husband, Prince Harry, today in Brussels, for an event concerning online child safety.
Harry and Meghan were both due to give the keynote address to the European Parliament, but it’s now understood that while Meghan will be in attendance, she will not be giving a speech.
“She’s just not strong enough, emotionally, to be doing any public speaking right now,” the aforementioned source told The Telegraph.
A spokesperson for Meghan later confirmed: “The duchess is travelling with the duke to Brussels and will accompany him to the event but will not speak.”
The event in question marks the first time Meghan will have been seen in public since the horrifying allegations leveled against her father came to light.
According to Page Six, Meghan’s brother, Thomas Markle Jr., 60, claimed to have found “hundreds, if not thousands” of suspected child sexual abuse images stored in several boxes belonging to their father, Thomas Markle Sr., which he then handed over to local authorities.
The allegations surfaced in late October, adding a deeply troubling chapter to the Markle family’s long-running public disputes.
Thomas Sr. has strongly denied any wrongdoing, accusing his son of spreading false allegations in an attempt to destroy his reputation.
On November 6, however, the US Justice Department confirmed in a press release that Markle Sr. had been arrested over allegations that he kept child sexual abuse material – including 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 been charged with one count of possession of child pornography and is subject to home detention and electronic tagging following his release on bail.
It was reported this week that Meghan is ready to assist authorities in investigating her estranged father, as is her mother, Doria Ragland.
The Duchess of Sussex previously made a statement saying she was “distressed at the news” concerning the allegations made against her father, while also shedding light on a letter shared with her as far back as 2018.
“I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours, and my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed,” Meghan said.
“In 2018, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection. That letter was subsequently shared with me.
“It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father, and I was given assurances that these were being investigated.”
It went on: “I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications’ distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children, was for one reason: to protect them.
“I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families. Although the breadth of what has now been uncovered is more sickening than one could ever imagine, my sincerest hope is that justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children.”
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