Harry and Meghan: What Are Their Mental Health Credentials? None whatsover

Opinion

By Ruth Lillian DiTucci

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are scheduled to speak at the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday, November 10, about children’s online safety. They can speak from their experience as parents and advocates. When lawmakers weigh claims about children’s mental health, they should give the floor to clinicians who treat children and researchers who study how online experiences affect them.

Neither Prince Harry nor Meghan Markle lists any clinical mental-health qualifications in their official biographies. Those biographies describe their advocacy and list no professional credentials in medicine, psychology, psychotherapy or clinical social work. Northwestern University says Meghan graduated in 2003 with a double major in theater and international studies. Meghan’s professional background includes acting. In a 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Harry described drinking heavily and using drugs to cope with grief after his mother’s death. In my view, neither is qualified to give clinical mental-health advice. Assessing symptoms and advising families on treatment should be left to trained clinicians. The families represented at the Lost Screen Memorial can speak with authority about what happened in their own homes. Parliament should hear both the families and the specialists.

The Sussexes can also speak with firsthand authority about a decision they control. In March, Meghan posted a behind-the-scenes clip from a shoot for her lifestyle brand, As Ever, featuring both Archie and Lilibet. The children also appeared in the couple’s Netflix documentary series, Harry & Meghan. Any revenue attributable to those appearances remains unverified. The commercial context is clear.

Harry and Meghan have gone to court to protect Archie’s privacy. In 2020, photo agency X17 agreed to stop distributing images taken at the family’s California residence and to turn over the originals and copies. A separate case involving long-lens photos of Meghan and Archie in a Canadian park also ended in a settlement. The Sussexes had every reason to defend their son’s privacy. That same concern should guide the choices they make about their own commercial footage.

Netflix’s trailers for Harry & Meghan also deserve scrutiny. One used a photograph from a Harry Potter premiere held years before the couple met. Another used footage of photographers outside court for Katie Price. Netflix used unrelated images to illustrate the press attention surrounding the Sussexes. Viewers deserved to know whose story those images actually showed.

What limits will Harry and Meghan set on using their children’s images to promote their businesses? What say will their children have over footage already released when they are old enough to decide for themselves? A parent can choose to post a clip in seconds. A child may have to live with that choice for years.

My view is that children should be kept out of their parents’ brand promotions until they can make an informed choice. In Brussels, the Sussexes can make room for families and qualified experts. At home, they can apply their privacy principles to the businesses they control.

Boeing’s withdrawal from participation should not be dismissed without examining the potential legal and reputational considerations involved. It is reasonable to question whether the corporation’s legal advisers recognized the potential liability associated with supporting public figures who, despite lacking professional qualifications in clinical psychology or mental-health treatment, make pronouncements on sensitive psychological matters.

When individuals with considerable public influence speak with apparent authority on such subjects, there is a legitimate concern that vulnerable members of the public may interpret their remarks as professional guidance and act upon them. Whether such concerns influenced Boeing’s decision remains unconfirmed, but the question warrants scrutiny.