Meghan pulls out of speech with Harry after father’s arrest

Meghan Markle, 45, will no longer deliver a planned keynote address at the Lost Screen Memorial exhibition at the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday, according to multiple outlets. The Duchess of Sussex was scheduled to speak alongside Prince Harry, 42, in what would have been their first joint overseas engagement since returning to the United Kingdom in August. The decision came after her father, Thomas Markle Sr., 82, was arrested by the FBI in Florida on Friday on one count of possession of child sexual abuse material. Federal authorities said illegal materials were allegedly found in storage units rented by Markle Sr. in Los Angeles. He appeared in a Tampa federal court on Friday, did not enter a plea, and was released on his own recognizance with home detention and electronic monitoring, according to ABC News. A federal magistrate judge ordered a psychiatric examination amid concerns about his ability to understand proceedings. The Telegraph reported that an insider said the Duchess is "just not strong enough, emotionally, to be doing any public speaking right now." Prince Harry will still deliver his speech and participate in a panel discussion, and the couple will walk through the memorial, which features 50 phones displaying lock-screen images of children who died after online harm. The allegations originated in the Philippines, where Markle Sr.'s son, Thomas Markle Jr., gave police four boxes of material he said contained evidence of child sex offenses. Mexican authorities also raided a storage unit near Rosarito Beach. The Duchess's mother, Doria Ragland, 70, helped the FBI identify Markle Sr. from photographs seized from two Los Angeles storage units, The Telegraph reported. Meghan previously released a statement in October saying she was "deeply distressed" and that her "thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed." She also said she learned of the allegations in 2018 from London's Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection, which led to their estrangement. Markle Sr. has denied the allegations, calling them "sick lies" and suggesting he was "set up."