Prince Harry was moved to tears as he met with parents who had lost their children and thanked them for sharing their stories.
The Duke of Sussex was visibly emotional as he addressed the families, who are building a landmark legal case against two giant social media platforms claiming they are to blame for their children’s deaths.
“None of you should be here,” Prince Harry said.
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““Thank you for doing everything that you’ve done. Thank you for telling your stories over and over again.”
The families had gathered in California after the start of the trial, which will examine whether YouTube and Meta, which owns Instagram, harm young people’s mental health.
The families are alleging that the online platforms are addictive by design, the BBC reported.
Lawyers representing YouTube and Meta have rejected those claims.
In footage shared exclusively with BBC Breakfast, Prince Harry said he hoped the case would bring about “truth, justice and accountability”.
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Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle continue to advocate for children’s safety online through their Archewell initiative The Parents’ Network, which supports families affected by social media and online harm.
On Wednesday, the father-of-two gave an impassioned speech to the group of grieving parents thanking them for their bravery and encouraging them to keep fighting.
“We’ve said time and time again that this is a David versus Goliath situation,” Prince Harry said.
“I’ve been in some similar situations myself — vastly different — but when you’re sitting in court and if you have that feeling of just overwhelming emotion, because you can’t believe that the people on the other side are saying what they’re saying.”
In January, Prince Harry testified against the Daily Mail’s publisher in a lawsuit accusing the group of unlawful information gathering.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have previously spoken out about the hidden dangers kids face online. Credit: Instagram
“By the very nature of defending what they’re defending, the lies that they are stating, is devaluing life, is devaluing your children’s lives — if that brings stuff up for you, it is totally normal,” Prince Harry continued, holding back tears.
“None of you should be here.
“Thank you for doing everything that you’ve done. Thank you for telling your stories over and over again.
“Truth, justice and accountability — those are the three things that will come from this.”
Among those who travelled to the United States to support the case was Ellen Roome, who believes her 14-year-old son, Jools Sweeney, died after an online challenge went wrong.
She told BBC Breakfast she was one of around 50 bereaved parents addressed by the prince on Wednesday.
“We can’t make a difference for our children, but we can make a difference for other people’s children,” she said.
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