Harry and Meghan to highlight online dangers for children in joint interview

Harry and Meghan say they want to help families who have suffered because of what's said on social media and elsewhere as ITV News' Ian Woods reports.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are to highlight the threat the internet poses to children during an upcoming US television interview.

Harry and Meghan have raised the issue numerous times since their move to America, and are due to spotlight the topic during their trip to Colombia.

The couple will appear in an interview for US show CBS Sunday Morning about a new initiative supporting parents of children affected by online harm.

Referring to the mental wellbeing of children online, Harry said: “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 this.”

Meghan spoke of her eldest child Archie and daughter Lilibet: “Our kids are young, they are three and five, they’re amazing, but 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 and we’re just happy to be able to be a part of change for good.”

Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning.

Following an invitation by vice president Francia Marquez, Meghan and Harry will tour Colombia later in the year, travelling to the capital Bogota and coastal areas.

The Sussexes’ trip will be their second official tour of the year after they visited Nigeria in May for three days.

Details of the couple’s Colombian itinerary have not been released by the Archewell Foundation, their charitable body, but the vice president said they would “engage in several activities” related to safeguarding young people.

The topics are expected to be discussed at the Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, which Colombia will be hosting in November after the visit.

New episodes of Talking Royals are released every week - listen and subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.