{"id":48932,"date":"2025-04-25T08:46:10","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T08:46:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/48932\/"},"modified":"2025-04-25T08:46:10","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T08:46:10","slug":"the-lost-screen-memorial-harry-and-meghan-unveil-new-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/48932\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The Lost Screen Memorial’: Harry And Meghan Unveil New Project"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle joined families in mourning on Wednesday evening as they unveiled a powerful memorial in New York City that calls for urgent reform of social media.<\/p>\n

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended a private vigil for a temporary installation called \u201cThe Lost Screen Memorial,\u201d which features 50 smartphone lock screens. Each lock screen is in a lightbox, which displays the image of a child whose life ended too soon as a result of social media. <\/p>\n

\""The“The Lost Screen Memorial” features 50 smartphone lock screens, each one displaying the image of a child whose life ended too soon as a result of social media.<\/p>\n

Emil Cohen for The Archewell Foundation<\/p>\n

The parents of the children featured in the installation are all part of Harry and Meghan\u2019s Archewell Foundation Parents\u2019 Network<\/a> and its No Child Lost to Social Media campaign. Parents submitted these \u201cdeeply personal images\u201d of their children \u201cto call attention to the urgent need for safer online spaces,\u201d according to a statement from Archewell.<\/p>\n

At the memorial, the affected parents gathered to view the installation and meet with other parents, as well as the duke and duchess, who spent nearly two hours connecting with each person at the event. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a universal truth that our children are in harm\u2019s way by what\u2019s happening online,\u201d Meghan told reporters, including HuffPost, at the event. \u201cNo matter how polarized the world is or what people may or may not agree on, one thing that we can all agree on is that our children should be safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\u201cIt\u201cIt is a universal truth that our children are in harm\u2019s way by what\u2019s happening online,\u201d said Meghan.<\/p>\n

Emil Cohen for The Archewell Foundation<\/p>\n

Prince Harry got visibly emotional while talking about the harrowing stories he\u2019s heard from parents over the last several years about their children who lost their lives due to cyberbullying or other dangers on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe easiest thing to say is to keep your kids away from social media,\u201d Harry told HuffPost at the event. \u201cThe sad reality is that the kids that aren\u2019t on social media normally get bullied at school because they can\u2019t be part of the same conversations as everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLife is better off of social media,\u201d Harry continued. \u201cI say that as a parent, and I say that as someone who\u2019s spoken to many of the kids here tonight who are not on social media because they\u2019ve lost a brother or a sister to social media. But clearly, enough is not enough. Enough is not being done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HarryHarry said, “Life is better off of social media.”<\/p>\n

Emil Cohen for The Archewell Foundation<\/p>\n

During the emotional unveiling of the installation, many people wept when they first saw their child\u2019s photo. Families were able to place flowers in front of their child\u2019s lightbox, and some parents described the overwhelming feeling of seeing their child on the screen. As the evening progressed and the sun set, the photos became even brighter, illuminating the entire space, which overlooked the city. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat moment of coming around the corner and seeing it was a touch overwhelming, and that\u2019s probably where I cried the most,\u201d Amy Neville, who lost a son named Alexander, told HuffPost on Wednesday. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut then going to my son\u2019s lightbox, he\u2019s cremated in his bedroom and so we don\u2019t have a place to go,\u201d she continued. \u201cAnd so, that feeling came over me when I got over there \u2014 I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh wow, this is kind of like visiting the gravesite\u2019 \u2026 and so that was a feeling I didn\u2019t anticipate.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"ParentsParents described the overwhelming feeling of seeing their child on the screen.<\/p>\n

Emil Cohen for The Archewell Foundation<\/p>\n

Joanna Bogard, who lost her son Mason, said that \u201cAny time you lose someone, a child, someone you love dearly \u2014 just having something tactile, something to look at, something to touch, something to say they were here and they were so important, it\u2019s just such a gift. And this is such a gift.\u201d <\/p>\n

In addition to the lightboxes, parents were able to record their memories of their child in a digital version<\/a> of the memorial. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey were remembered for who they were, and not so much how they passed,\u201d Bogard said. \u201cAnd this gave us a chance to connect as a community of grieving parents \u2014 to talk about our kids in a way we don\u2019t typically talk about them.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cSo many of us [parents] advocate through education, state legislation, federal legislation. We\u2019re on Capitol Hill; we\u2019re in the state lobby offices. We\u2019re just doing so much. And we\u2019re telling how they passed, but it\u2019s not very often that we get to say, this is my child,\u201d Bogard continued. <\/p>\n

Bogard said Mason loved to fish and hike, and that he was adventurous.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe loved so much about the world, and he was loved and he loved,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd this gives us that chance to exhale and focus on who Mason was and who our kids were, and then it gives us a chance to say thank you for giving us this opportunity to connect.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"AsAs the sun set, the photos became even brighter, illuminating the entire space, which overlooked the city.<\/p>\n

Emil Cohen for The Archewell Foundation<\/p>\n

One parent, Tammy Rodriguez, said that her daughter Selena \u201calways loved the city.\u201d <\/p>\n

And now, with the exhibit, \u201cshe\u2019s right in the middle, and she\u2019s overlooking it.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cJust seeing that really meant a lot to us,\u201d said Rodriguez, who attended the memorial with her daughter Destiny. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been an absolute honor and pleasure just to be able to be here and exist with everyone and just kind of feel that mutual love and kind of grieve as well,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n

Both Tammy and Destiny Rodriguez spent time with Harry and Meghan, whom they described as \u201cso down to earth\u201d and \u201cso sweet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harry and Meghan have made the dangers of social media, especially as it concerns children, one of their core initiatives.<\/p>\n

HuffPost previously reported on a panel<\/a> on behalf of the Archewell Foundation Parents\u2019 Summit in New York City in October 2023, where parents of children who died by suicide spoke about their experiences. <\/p>\n

The parents told audience members about how certain social media algorithms led their children down dangerous digital rabbit holes, and how tech companies and platforms outpaced parents who would consider themselves well-versed in social media.<\/p>\n

Meghan said she found it \u201cjust devastating\u201d to hear from the parents Archewell worked with, and said it was \u201cimpossible to not be in tears\u201d when they shared their stories. <\/p>\n

The Duchess of Sussex has spoken out about being the victim of cyberbullying on a global scale. In March 2021, she told Oprah Winfrey she was suicidal while living in the United Kingdom because she felt so isolated by royal life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m told that in 2019, I was the most trolled person in the entire world \u2015 male or female,\u201d Meghan said during a joint interview with Harry on the \u201cTeenager Therapy\u201d podcast in 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cEight months of that, I wasn\u2019t even visible. I was on maternity leave with a baby,\u201d the royal shared. \u201cBut what was able to be manufactured and churned out \u2015 it\u2019s almost unsurvivable.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s so big you can\u2019t even think of what that feels like,\u201d the royal added.<\/p>\n

If you or someone you know needs help, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org<\/a> for mental health support. Additionally, you can find local mental health and crisis resources at dontcallthepolice.com<\/a>. Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK \u2014 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle joined families in mourning on Wednesday evening as they unveiled…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":48933,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7708],"tags":[7709,26528,7721,7719,7718,7720,1281,447,7710,519,182,7711],"class_list":{"0":"post-48932","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-royals","8":"tag-british-royal-family","9":"tag-cyberbullying","10":"tag-duchess-of-sussex","11":"tag-duke-of-sussex","12":"tag-harry","13":"tag-meghan","14":"tag-meghan-markle","15":"tag-prince-harry","16":"tag-royal-families","17":"tag-royal-family","18":"tag-social-media","19":"tag-uk-royal-family"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114397733466921190","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48932\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}