Meghan Markle Shares That “Being a Mom is the Most Important Thing in My Entire Life” at Archewell’s First In-Person Event Yesterday

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle marked World Mental Health Day in New York City yesterday at an emotional summit that doubled as The Archewell Foundation’s first in-person event. (Harry and Meghan founded their nonprofit in 2020 and one of its core beliefs, according to People, is that “mental health and collective wellbeing is paramount”; the Foundation “approaches all philanthropic work through this lens.”)

At the summit, Harry and Meghan hosted an emotional panel of parents who are navigating mental health challenges in today’s digital age; the event featured parents who have experienced tragic loss connected to their child’s social media use. People reports that Harry and Meghan have been working with the parents involved in the summit behind the scenes.

“I can’t start without thanking all the parents, the mothers and fathers, for being with us physically today, but also being on this journey with us for the last year, creating this community of shared experience,” Harry said as he took the stage with Meghan for the panel. “We know it’s not easy for you guys to be here, so thank you very much.”

Meghan added “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,” she said. “As parents, though our kids are really young—two-and-a-half and four-and-a-half—but social media isn’t going away, and by design, there was an entry post that was supposed to be positive and create community, but something has developed, and there’s no way to hear that and not try to help these families have their stories be heard.”

The panel was moderated by Carson Daly, who, at the end of the panel, turned to Meghan and asked “As a mom of two young kids, after the stories that we heard today from these families that you’ve gotten to know over the past year and the work that Archewell is doing in this space, where is this on the priority list, not as a kick-ass woman, but as a mom? Excuse my French!”

“Being a mom is the most important thing in my entire life—outside, of course, being a wife to this one,” she replied, gesturing to Harry. “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. They say being a parent, the days are long but the years are short, so it worries me, but I’m also given a lot of hope and energy by the progress we’ve made in the past year being able to have these incredible parents, these survivors of these experiences, share their stories, and the more information gathering we’re able to do, the more we can move the needle a little bit. Everyone is affected by the online world and social media. We all just want to feel safe. I’m confident that with more ears and awareness and visibility of what is really happening, we can make some significant change together.”

For the event, Meghan wore a cream off-the-shoulder top and wide-legged trouser combination from Altuzarra; Aquazzura heels completed the look.

Daly is a board member of Project Healthy Minds and the three were also joined by Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to discuss the work and explore potential solutions. The summit, “The Archewell Foundation Parents’ Summit: Mental Wellness in a Digital Age,” was created to give “a voice to families who are passionate about building a safer online world for children and teens,” People reports. At the end of the panel, Harry and Meghan received a standing ovation and shared hugs with Daly and Murthy before quietly exiting the stage.