Meghan Markle appeared visibly distressed as she accompanied Prince Harry to the European Parliament in Brussels, according to royal commentators who discussed the couple’s latest public appearance. The Duchess of Sussex reportedly looked strained and held her husband’s hand for reassurance. Meanwhile, Harry delivered a speech on protecting children online.
Royal commentators say Meghan Markle looked ‘strained’ at Brussels event with Prince Harry
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex traveled to Brussels for an event focused on children’s online safety. Organizers initially expected the couple to deliver a joint address. However, just hours before the speech, Meghan Markle withdrew from the engagement, leaving Prince Harry to address the audience alone.
A source close to the Duchess reportedly said Markle did not feel strong enough to address the audience in public. This was after police arrested her estranged father, Thomas Markle Sr. Although she pulled out of the speech, she still joined Harry at the European Parliament. Her appearance caught the attention of Mirror deputy royal editor Jennifer Newton, who said Markle looked unusually tense.
Newton said on this week’s episode of Pod Save the King, “I was quite shocked because I thought she looked incredibly strained. She looked incredibly fraught. I mean, she’s normally the real confident one, isn’t she? The one who really lights up the room, but not on this occasion.” Mirror royal editor Russell Myers also noticed a change in the couple’s body language. He suggested that Meghan Markle seemed to seek comfort from Harry as they arrived at the European Parliament.
“You could tell the strain on her face… it looked like she really needed that reassurance,” Myers said. Newton added that Markle’s decision to withdraw from the speech reflected the pressure she may have been experiencing involving her father. “The fact that she pulled out of this speech shows the stress that she was really under right now. I’m not surprised she didn’t speak, given the gravity of the situation concerning her father. It really shows what she is going through,” she said.
The US Justice Department announced on November 6 that Meghan Markle’s estranged father had been arrested in Florida and charged with one count of possessing child pornography.
