Erin Crabtree and Miranda Siwak
·4 min read
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sat down for a new joint interview during the Sunday, August 4, episode of CBS Sunday Morning.
Harry, 39, and Meghan, who turned 43 on Sunday, joined Jane Pauley to discuss a new initiative for kids regarding social media, called The Parents Network.
“All you want to do as parents is protect them. 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,” Meghan said in the interview. “We’re just happy to be able to be a part of a change for good.”
Harry then chimed in: “At this point, we’ve got to the stage where almost every parent needs 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. That is the terrifying piece of it.”
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Meghan and Harry specifically pointed to social media as an indicator of teens dying by suicide. Meghan previously struggled with similar thoughts when she was pregnant with son Prince Archie, now 5, news of which she initially shared in her bombshell 2021 CBS interview.
"There is a through line, I think. 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," Meghan said. "I haven’t really scraped the surface on my experience, but I do think I would never want someone else to feel that way and I would never want someone else to be making those sort of plans."
She continued, "I would never want someone else not to be believed. 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."
CBS had previously teased in a statement that the interview would allow the couple — who tied the knot in May 2018 and are parents of son Archie and daughter Princess Lilibet, 3 — to “introduce a program aimed at supporting parents whose children have been impacted by online harm.” The Parents Network officially launched on Sunday under Harry and Meghan's Archewell Foundation.
"I think you have to start somewhere," Meghan said of the program's modest beginnings. "Look at it through the lens of, 'What if it was my daughter? What if it was my son? My son or my daughter, who comes home joyful [and] I love, and one day, right under our roofs, our entire lives change because of something completely out of our control. If you look at it through the lens of a parent, there is no way to see that any other way than to try and find a solution."
The Parents' Network, according to a press release, aims to provide a safe and free support network for parents whose children have been harmed by social media. Following a two-year pilot program, it is now available to use in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada.
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"Over the past two years, alongside our co-founders Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and duch*ess of Sussex, our team has engaged deeply with parents and young people about the repercussions of social media on their mental, physical, and emotional well-being,"James Holt, the executive director of Archewell, said in a statement. "It became strikingly clear that there is a critical need for connection and community among those who understand the pain, fear, and isolation caused by social media’s impact on children. We believe in the transformative power of community, and that is why we have created this network — to connect those who face these challenges and offer mutual support.”
Harry and Meghan have been vocal about advocating for children negatively affected by social media. In October 2023, they appeared on a panel with grieving parents at a World Mental Health Day event in New York City.
“A year ago, we met some of the families, and at the time, it was impossible not to be in tears hearing their stories because it’s just that devastating,” Meghan said at the time.
She added, “But I will say I feel fortunate that our children are at an age, again quite young, so this isn’t in our immediate future, but I also feel frightened at how it’s continuing to change and this will be in front of us.”
Harry and Meghan’s Sunday interview marks the first time they have participated in a joint televised sit-down since their March 2021 tell-all. At the time, the pair revealed behind-the-scenes details of their exit from the royal family one year prior, speaking out publicly for the first time about the drama surrounding their departure and subsequent move to the United States amid their ongoing rift with Harry’s family.
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