BRUSSELS, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Meghan, the wife of Britain's Prince Harry, cancelled plans to address a European Parliament gathering on child online safety issues on Tuesday, in her first public event since her father was charged with possessing child sexual abuse photos.
A spokesperson for the couple also said Harry would not make any reference to the arrest of Thomas Markle, Meghan's estranged father, at the event which began after 9 a.m. (0800 GMT).
The couple arrived in Brussels, where Harry will deliver a speech at the opening of the Lost Screen Memorial, an art installation commemorating children who died as a result of suffering harm on social media.
They were met by waiting delegates and a large press pack, with journalists shouting to ask Meghan how she was feeling.
Both dressed in black, they made no comment.
The Daily Telegraph reported that Meghan, who said in a statement last month that she was "deeply distressed" about the allegations about her father, did not feel "strong enough" to speak at the event, as had been planned.
US authorities charged Thomas Markle with possession of child sexual abuse photos last week, including photographs of himself with naked underage girls, found in rented storage units in California.
The 82-year-old denied the accusations of possessing child sexual abuse material when they came to light, telling the Daily Mail they were untrue and "sick lies."
Meghan has been estranged from her father since the run-up to her marriage to King Charles' younger son Harry in 2018.
She said in her statement last month that she had known about the allegations against him since 2018 and had prevented him from having contact with her children Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, to protect them.
In Brussels, Harry and Meghan were opening the Lost Screen Memorial.
The royal couple launched the memorial in New York last year through their charitable organisation Archewell, which they set up in 2020 after stepping back from royal duties and moving to the United States.
Their trip to Brussels follows an appearance in Nottingham in October, their first joint appearance since they moved back to live in Britain.
(Reporting by Kate Holton and Yoruk Bahceli; editing by Sarah Young and Sharon Singleton)
