Harry and Meghan discuss ‘protecting’ children from online harm

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have discussed the online threats facing children in their first formal broadcast interview since their conversation with Oprah Winfrey three years ago.

Speaking on CBS News Sunday Morning, the couple drew on their own experience as parents, saying all they wanted to do was “protect” their son Archie and daughter Lilibet.

Prince Harry added that “one of the scariest things” was knowing that any parent could lose a child to suicide as a result of exposure to harmful content.

The pair recently launched a new programme called The Parents Network, which aims to support parents and guardians who have been affected by the issue.

In their interview with Oprah, Prince Harry and Meghan covered issues from racism to life in the Royal Family.

This interview solely focused on their ambitions to tackle online harm.

“Our kids are young, they are three and five, they’re amazing, but all you want to do as parents is protect them,” Meghan said.

“And so as we can see what’s happening in the online space, we know that there’s a lot of work to be done there and we’re just happy to be a part of change for good.”

Prince Harry said that in the “olden days” parents always knew what their children were up to, as long as they were at home.

“At least they were safe, right?” he said.

“And now, they could be in the next door room on a tablet or on a phone, and can be going down these rabbit holes. And before you know it, within 24 hours, they could be taking their life.”

Alongside the sit-down interview, clips showed the couple meeting with bereaved parents near Santa Barbara, most of whom had lost a child due to harmful social media content or online bullying.

Prince Harry said that it has reached a point where almost every parent has to be “a first responder”.

“And even the best first responders in the world wouldn’t be able to tell the signs of possible suicide,” he said.

“That is the terrifying piece of this.”

Prince Harry, whose mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, died when he was 12, has been open about the impact grief had – and continues to have – on his mental health.

In her interview with Oprah, Meghan also spoke about her battles with poor mental health.

She said there was “a through-line” which connected her experience to those families who had lost a child.

“When you’ve been through any level of pain or trauma, I believe part of our healing journey – certainly part of mine – is being able to be really open about it,” she said.

Meghan said that she hadn’t really “scraped the surface” on her own experience, but she never wanted anyone else to feel the way she had.

She said: “If me voicing what I have overcome will save someone or encourage someone in their life to really genuinely check in on them, and not assume the appearance is good so everything is OK, then that’s worth it. I’ll take a hit for that.”

The couple are expected to highlight the importance of safeguarding young people online during their official visit to Colombia later this month. The trip follows their visit to Nigeria in May.

Speaking about their new initiative, The Parents Network, Meghan said that it was important to “start somewhere”.

She urged people watching the interview to look at it through the lens of it being their own child who was impacted.

“What if it was my daughter, what if it was my son,” she said. “My son or my daughter who comes home, who are joyful, who I love, and one day, right under my roof, our entire lives change because of something that was completely out of our control.

“And if you look at it through the lens as a parent, there is no way to see that any other way than to try and find a solution.”

The Sussexes moved to California in June 2020 with their son Archie. Their daughter Lilibet was born there in 2021.

The couple do not mention any other members of the Royal Family in their CBS interview.

They are not expected to visit Prince Harry’s father, King Charles III, in Scotland during his summer break.

Last week, the Duke of Sussex said his decision to fight against intrusion from the tabloid press was a “central piece” behind the breakdown of his relationship with the rest of his family.