Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made a first appearance since Meghan Markle's father was arrested on charges of possessing child sex abuse material.

Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the duke and duchess of Sussex, made their first appearance since Meghan's father was arrested on charges of possessing child sex abuse material in Los Angeles.

Harry spoke at the European Parliament in Brussels Tuesday, where he called for stronger online protections for children.

Meghan was originally scheduled to speak along with her husband but said she didn't feel emotionally able. As reporters asked her how she was feeling when the couple arrived at the Paul-Henri Spaak building, she didn't respond, the BBC reported. She was seen holding Harry's hand tightly.

Thomas Markle Sr., 82, was in court Friday in Florida and was charged with possession of child sex abuse material. The material was found in two Los Angeles storage facilities that he was renting. He is now on home incarceration in the dementia care facility where he lives in Lakeland and has denied the allegations.

On Oct. 23, Markle's son, Thomas Markle Jr., 60, said he and another person had found the material in his father's home in Cebu, Philippines, and reported it to police and the FBI. The other person's identity hasn't been released.

Meghan has long been estranged from her father.

"I'm not here as an expert or a politician. I'm here as a father. My wife, a mother," Harry during the speech before European Parliament.

"I'm not asking for a world without technology," Harry said. He added that children "deserve to feel safe wherever they are."

Everyone is responsible for protecting children from companies that "clearly don't care," and said a "handful of very powerful people" wanted a social media world of "lawlessness, little consequence, complete chaos [and] division," Harry said in the keynote speech.

The speech and visit also marked the Lost Screen Memorial's arrival in Europe. The memorial is made of screens with images of children whose parents believe their deaths were linked to harm from social media. The memorial is supported by the couple's Archewell Foundation.