Meghan Markle Says 'Being a Mom' Is 'Most Important Thing in My Life' at Emotional Mental Health Summit

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex marked World Mental Health Day with a special panel of parents in New York City

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are marking World Mental Health Day with an emotional panel of parents in New York City that highlighted their own role as parents to son Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lilibet, 2.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped out in N.Y.C. on Tuesday, Oct. 10 for their Archewell Foundation's first in-person event, providing a platform for parents navigating mental health challenges in today's digital age. The summit featured parents who have experienced tragic loss connected to their child’s social media use. Meghan and Harry have been working with the parents involved in the event behind the scenes, PEOPLE has learned.

“I can’t start without thanking all the parents, the mothers and fathers for being with us physically today, but also being on this journey with us for the last year, creating this community of shared experience,” Harry said after taking the stage with Meghan for the panel.

“We know it’s not easy for you guys to be here so thank you very much,” he continued.

Meghan then said: "A year ago we met some of the families, and at the time, it was impossible not to be in tears hearing their stories because it's just that devastating.

"As parents, though our kids are really young, 2 1/2 and 4 1/2, but social media isn't going away and by design, there was an entry post that was supposed to be positive and create community but something has devolved and there's no way to hear that and not try to help these families have their stories be heard."

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Speaking as a father, Harry added: “I think for us, for myself and my wife, with kids growing up in a digital age, the priority here is to again turn pain into purpose and provide as much support as well as a spotlight and a platform for these parents to come together, to heal, to grieve and to also collectively focus on solutions so that no other family anywhere has to go through what they’ve been through."

At the end of the panel, Daly turned to Meghan and asked: "As a mom of two young kids, after the stories that we heard today from these families that you've gotten to know over the past year and the work that Archewell is doing in this space, where is this on the priority list, not as a kick-ass woman, but as a mom? Excuse my French!"

Meghan replied: "Being a mom is the most important thing in my entire life — outside, of course, being a wife to this one," she said, gesturing to Harry. "But I will say I feel fortunate that our children are at an age, again quite young, so this isn't in our immediate future, but I also feel frightened at how it's continuing to change and this will be in front of us."

"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 energy by the progress we've made in the past year being able to have these incredible parents, these survivors of these experiences, share their stories and the more information gathering we're able to do, the more we can move the needle a little bit," she continued. "Everyone is affected by the online world and social media. we all just want to feel safe. I'm confident that with more ears and awareness and visibility of what is really happening, we can make some significant change together."

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy also joined Meghan and Harry on stage to discuss the importance of this work and explore potential solutions, in a conversation moderated by Carson Daly, Board Member of Project Healthy Minds.

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'The Archewell Foundation Parents’ Summit: Mental Wellness in a Digital Age' gave a voice to families who are passionate about building a safer online world for children and teens, PEOPLE exclusively revealed. 

Tuesday’s conversation explored how we as a community, both globally and locally, are creating positive change and supporting one another in developing solutions to empower families and uplift our collective mental well-being.

"What we're going to need is to work together and partner with other parents," Murthy said of keeping kids off social media at a young age. "Because it's a lot easier to do if you are a part of a group of parents who say we're going to do this for our kids. Whenever one of our kids say, 'I'm the only one not on it,' we can say, No, Harry and Meghan's kids aren't on it either!'"

Meghan and Harry received a standing ovation when their panel came to a close. They shared hugs with Carson Daly and the Surgeon General before quietly exiting the stage.

Uplifting communities, building a better online world and restoring trust in information are the key pillars of the Archewell Foundation, which Prince Harry and Meghan launched in 2020. The Archewell Foundation operates with the core belief that mental health and collective wellbeing is paramount and approaches all philanthropic work through this lens.

Earlier in the day, Meghan and Harry visited a Brooklyn-based school that prepares young adults from underestimated backgrounds for careers in the tech field. The outing highlights the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s ongoing work to help create a safer online world.

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