On Friday, the Sussexes’ spokesperson confirmed that the Duchess of Sussex would travel to Geneva, Switzerland over the weekend. The photos in this post are from Sunday, where Meghan made a speech, inaugurating the Lost Screen Memorial. The Lost Screen Memorial is something Prince Harry and Meghan created in concert with their Archewell Philanthropies and The Parents’ Network, and it highlights the young people who have died because of social media. Meghan wore a sedate, wide-legged Armani pantsuit and her hair was slicked back. After she spoke, she spent time with some of the families who flew in for the event.
Meghan Markle is in Switzerland to send a global message about safer digital spaces. The Duchess of Sussex, 44, stepped out in Geneva on Sunday, May 17, for an event debuting the Lost Screen Memorial in Geneva’s Place des Nations, ahead of the opening of the 79th World Health Assembly. She was joined there by World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (whom she previously joined on a trip to Jordan with Prince Harry earlier this year), global health leaders and families affected by online harm to see the illumination of 50 lightboxes, each displaying the lock screen image of a child who lost their life as a result of online violence and digital harm.
At the ceremony, Meghan paid tribute to the children remembered in the installation and underscored the urgent need for stronger global protections for children online. She began her speech by stating that safe online spaces are “not simply a technology issue,” but a “public health issue.”
“Behind me stands The Lost Screen Memorial,” she continued, referencing the photos and names of 50 children who died by suicide as a result of online bullying and digital harm. “Each name belonged to a child who was loved beyond measure. A child whose laughter once filled a kitchen. Whose shoes once waited by a front door. Whose future once felt limitless. Now their faces ask the world questions we can no longer avoid: How many more millions of children will be harmed by products that, while innovative, are still designed without sufficient safeguards?” Meghan asked the crowd.
The Duchess of Sussex went on to compare the dangers of online spaces to other widely recognized public safety concerns, noting that governments and policymakers have long intervened to protect children in those other areas.
“We did not tell parents to create their own seatbelts. We did not ask children to test unsafe medicine. We did not shrug at poisoned water or defective toys and call it the price of progress,” she said. “We acted. And now the world must act again.”
She urged the global community to take action, stating that the threat to children and families is growing stronger by the day, especially due to the nature of artificial intelligence (AI).
“Across lived experience, court cases, authoritative medical and media journals, and testimony from families, a clear and urgent picture is emerging,” she said. “At the same time, advancing technologies, such as AI, are not just repeating past mistakes — they are accelerating and amplifying them. The risks are compounding,” she added.
Meghan concluded her speech on a note of hope, insisting that “these outcomes are not inevitable.” “Speak up. Demand better from the platforms shaping our children’s lives. Be an example in your own social media use of how to be intentional in every like, comment, post, and share. Hold your community to the same standard. Support laws and leaders committed to child safety by design, transparency and accountability online. Write to your elected representatives. Ask what they are doing to protect children in digital spaces. Because when enough voices refuse to accept harm as the cost of connection, change becomes inevitable.”
I saw some photos and stories from people who attended the event in Geneva and they described it as very moving, and they were honored that Meghan spent time talking to them and embracing them. Meaningful, impactful, important, and the work was supported by WHO and UN officials.
The Daily Beast’s Tom Sykes was also there, “reporting” for the DB and for his Royalist Substack. He’s already written a screed about how Meghan’s speech was “an Audition for a Political Role No Electorate Would Ever Give Her.” In it, Sykes bizarrely argues this: “I couldn’t help thinking, that if this is the stuff she wants to do, wouldn’t she have been a thousand times more effective doing so from within the incredible platform being a member of the royal family would have given her? Wouldn’t that platform have been worth any number of fights over backstabbing, bridesmaids dresses and lip gloss, or a broken dog bowl?” Ah, yes, why didn’t Harry and Meghan put up with 24-7 physical and emotional abuse for the rest of their lives so they could do the exact work they’re doing now?
Photos courtesy of Getty Images.