The Duchess of Sussex shared an emotional embrace with a Belgian mother at her first public appearance since her father was charged with child sexual offences

The Duchess of Sussex embraced Sandra Spitaels, a Belgian mother who lost her son to suicide, at the opening of the Lost Screen Memorial at the European Parliament earlier this week.The Duke and Duchess attended the opening of the memorial in Brussels which commemorated the lives of young people lost because of their experiences online.Meghan's fond embrace came after Sandra made a heartfelt speech at the event. As Sandra stepped off-stage, Meghan got up out of her front row seat to comfort and embrace the tearful woman. Sandra's son Glenn died by suicide in 2017 after a nude photograph of him was shared online and failed to be taken down. The Belgian mother has since been a prominent campaigner for children's safety online and organises an annual 'Walk for Glenn' to raise money for Child Focus, a Belgian charityIn her speech, Sandra called for platforms to remove damaging and explicit images immediately and to give young people a simple way to ask for help.She said: 'Technology moves in seconds. Children need protection at the same speed. Glenn felt completely hopeless.'In an interview with the Royal Observer, Sandra shared the importance of the Duke and Duchess's support, particularly as the Lost Screen Memorial is backed by The Archewell Foundation Parent's Network, which sets out to build safer communities online.She said: '[Their support] is very important and it touched me a lot. They open doors.' Meghan Markle comforted Sandra Spitaels after the Belgian mother made a tearful speech at the Lost Screen Memorial event in BrusselsThe Lost Screen Memorial installation featured 50 screens resembling smartphones displaying photographs of young people who have lost their life due to experiences online.The Archewell Foundation unveiled its first Lost Screen Memorial in New York in April last year. While visiting the display in New York, Harry and Meghan attended a private vigil with the 50 families whose children were commemorated in the installation. Since, Lost Screen Memorial installations have also been erected in Los Angeles and Geneva.The Lost Screen Memorial event in Brussels also marked Meghan's first public appearance since her father, Thomas Markle, was charged with child sexual offences. While Harry and Meghan had initially planned to make a joint address at the memorial's opening, Meghan backed out at the last minute.One source said: 'She's just not strong enough, emotionally, to be doing any public speaking right now.'She also didn't attend the public part of the event, likely wanting to avoid the swarms of photographers waiting for her. Instead, the Duke of Sussex made a 20-minute speech alone in which he raised questions around why children's welfare online wasn't more of a priority. Harry asked: 'How did we reach a point where we can build technology capable of extraordinary things, yet still struggle to make it safe for a child?'He said: 'Why, when we ask whether it can keep a child safe, does everything suddenly become complicated?'I am not asking for a world without technology. That isn’t possible, it isn’t what young people want, and it certainly isn’t what I want for my own children.'My approach to life, and to the value of it, has perhaps unsurprisingly always been about prevention. Preventing harm before it happens, rather than waiting for tragedy before deciding something must change.' The Duke of Sussex made his keynote speech alone after Meghan Markle dropped out at the last minuteThe Duke of Sussex highlighted the issues surrounding how technology is marketed and designed for children's engagement.He said: 'Safety doesn't begin when a child picks up the phone, it begins long before that. It begins in design meetings.'He added: 'Increasingly, these [technology] systems seek something even more intimate. Our children's thoughts, feelings, trust and connections.''We keep blaming children or their parents for systems deliberately designed to hold their attention.'Harry spoke from his perspective as a father of two. He said: 'I'm not an expert or a politician. I'm here as a father. My wife as a mother. And together, as a couple who stand alongside parents like Sandra, Megan and Sewell; in New York, Los Angeles, Geneva and now Brussels.'Parents who never imagined they would have a reason to be in rooms like this.'While Meghan didn't speak at the event held in Brussels, she has made speeches at previous Lost Screen Memorial events.Standing in front of the memorial in Geneva she said: 'How many more millions of children will be harmed by products that, while innovative, are still designed without sufficient safeguards? When will children be able to enjoy the extraordinary potential of technology without it compromising their wellbeing?'She added: 'Children today are being shaped by systems designed to capture attention at any cost: relentless algorithms, exploitative engagement, and endless exposure to harmful content that they are not seeking out.''These outcomes are not inevitable. And prevention begins with one simple principle: Children must be safe by design, not safe by chance.'Harry and Meghan met with other parents including Megan Garcia, whose son died by suicide at just 14-years-old after developing an attachment to an AI chatbot.