Prince Harry and Meghan Markle joined by dog Pula for first appearance of 2026

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made their first appearance of 2026 as they appeared at a special online book launch.

Prince Harry, 41, and Meghan, 44, joined Gayle King on an Oprah Daily chat to talk about the hidden cost of phone-based childhoods with authors Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price as they based their new book, An Amazing Generation.

Appearing via video link from their sunny Montecito home, Harry and Meghan asked the experts a number of questions about the impact of phones and screens on children’s wellbeing.

The Duke and Duchess are passionate about online safety for children and young people,and in 2024, they launched The Parents’ Network, which aims to provide a safe and free support network for parents whose children have been harmed by social media.

“Can you speak to how a phone-based childhood affects kids’ emotional development and what families can do to support healthier patterns?” Harry asked Jonathan.

“Kids need to play, all mammals play, and once they get the device, it’s going to push out everything else,” the American social psychologist and author warned. “They’re going to have less sleep, they’re going to stop reading books, they’re going to stop spending so much time with other kids, they’re not going to get as much sunshine, not as much exercise.

“So, as they get more into a screen-based life, all the things that children need to do get pushed down and pushed out by these screen-based activities which are engineered for addiction.”

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During a lighthearted moment of the call, Gayle pointed out that she could see Harry and Meghan’s dog, Pula, in the background, with the Duke laughing: “She’s been sitting next to us, chewing a stick.”

Harry previously sat down for a discussion with Jonathan on the effects of smartphones and social media on children and young people back in 2024 for World Mental Health Day.

In December, Harry and Meghan also shared their thoughts as they reacted to Australia’s social media ban for under-16s, calling it “bold, decisive action to protect children at a critical moment in their development,” but adding that the ban “only works as a band aid”.

Archie and Lilibet’s future

Last year, the Duke appeared on the Hasan Minhaj Doesn’t Know podcast in which he shared that he and Meghan have had difficult conversations surrounding their young children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet’s future on social media.

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“We talk about it a lot,” he said. “I think that because of what we know now, we will be way more cautious and hesitant of allowing our kids to have access to social media, but the problem is, so many parents don’t have that awareness.

“Because in no logical, fair, ethical, moral world, should a parent have to consider this app, that sits on the phone – which by the way, having a phone for your kid is a really important thing – but the moment that you give them the gateway to everything else, kids will be kids.”