Prince Harry, Meghan Markle mute Kate, William's buzz with first blow of 2026

Prince William and Kate Middleton seemingly received the frist blow of 2026 from their US-based royal relatives Prince Harry and Meghan Markle soon after their joint outing on Thursday, January 8.

The Waleses bounced back into the spotlight with a joint hospital visit, but the royal couple's buzz was quickly muted as Meghan and Harry swooped in, stealing the show with their surprise appearance together.

William and Kate's hospital hop was meant to be the moment, until the Sussexes crashed the party and stole the thunder, making their first appearance of 2026 at a special online book launch.

Appearing via video link from their Montecito home to join Gayle King on an Oprah Daily chat, Harry and Meghan asked the experts a number of questions about the impact of phones and screens on children's wellbeing.

However, the couple seemingly dethroned William, Kate from the headlines, with some commentators branding the move "the first blow to the Wleses from the Sussexes in 2026."

In conversation with Jonathan, Harry asked: "Can you speak to how a phone-based childhood affects kids' emotional development and what families can do to support healthier patterns?"

The American social psychologist and author responded, saying: "Kids need to play, all mammals play, and once they get the device, it's going to push out everything else."

He went on to explain that children's screen-based activities took away all their shine as they have less sleep, they stop reading books.