‘Frightened’: Meghan’s fears for Archie and Lilibet

Meghan Markle and her husband Prince Harry attended an event in New York where the duchess revealed her worries for Archie and Lili.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Project Healthy Minds)

Meghan Markle has admitted that she feels “frightened” when she thinks about her children using social media.

The Duchess of Sussex made the comments at a World Mental Health Day panel event in New York City, which she attended with her husband Prince Harry.

The 42-year-old has two children, Archie, four and Lilibet, two.

Several parents shared stories of suffering “tragic loss connected to their child’s social media use”, before Harry and Meghan took to the stage and spoke about their own fears.

The Duchess of Sussex speaks onstage at The Archewell Foundation Summit. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Project Healthy Minds)

“I feel fortunate that our children are at an age, quite young, so this isn’t in our immediate future, but I also feel frightened by how it’s continuing to change,” Meghan said.

“And this will be in front of us. As 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 a lot of energy by the progress we’ve made in the last year.”

It is the first time Prince Harry and Meghan have returned to New York since they were involved in a “near catastrophic car chase”. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Project Healthy Minds)

Meghan was once an avid social media user and used her Instagram account to share pictures of holidays and nights out with friends.

She deleted her account once she started dating the prince and now neither of them are active on social media.

Their now defunct Instagram page Sussex Royal once had 11 million followers but the couple stopped using it when they “stepped down as senior royals” in 2020.

These days they prefer to promote themselves through social media accounts linked to their non-profit organisation The Archewell Foundation.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with Archie and Lilibet in their 2021 Christmas Card . (Photo by Alexi Lubomirski/Handout/The Duke and Duchess of Sussex)

The couple’s latest New York engagement is the first time they have returned to the city since they were involved in a “near catastrophic car chase” in Manhattan on May 16.

Harry and Meghan had been at an awards ceremony when they claimed they were chased by paparazzi through the city.

Doubts have been cast on their version of events with police playing down the chase, describing the situation instead as “chaotic”.