Meghan Markle and Prince Harry spotlight a mother’s fight that changed U.K. law, declaring one parent can change everything

When a child dies, parents are left with a thousand questions that do not stop. In today’s world, some of those answers live inside social media accounts, direct messages, and browsing histories.

That is why one mother’s fight in the United Kingdom is resonating far beyond her own family, and why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are using their platform to help amplify it.

A mother’s fight after an unthinkable loss

Ellen Roome’s son, Jools, died in 2022 at age 14. After his death, she tried to access his social media accounts. She was not looking for gossip or curiosity. She was looking for clarity.

As Archewell Philanthropies explained in an update shared on Sussex.com on Monday, Feb. 16, “Ellen sought access to his social media accounts to understand what had happened, what he’d been exposed to, what he’d been interacting with.”

“The companies refused, citing data protection policies and terms of service. Ellen could have accepted this. Instead, she dedicated herself to finding out what happened to her son and to ensuring no other parent faces the same barriers she did.”

Instead of hitting a dead end and being forced to live with uncertainty, Ellen pushed forward. Her campaigning helped lead to an amendment to the United Kingdom’s Crime and Policing Bill. The amendment is known as Jools’ Law, named in honor of her son.

What Jools’ Law changes

Jools’ Law focuses on a problem most people do not think about until it is too late. If a child dies, parents may need access to the child’s digital life to understand what happened.

But social media companies often point to data protection rules and terms of service. That can leave families stuck in a painful limbo, especially when they are trying to piece together whether online content played a role.

With Jools’ Law, a child’s social media records will be preserved in the event of their death. That preservation matters.

It means key information is less likely to vanish due to deletion, account closures, or standard retention policies. It also recognizes that parents deserve a fair shot at answers, especially when those answers may help protect other children in the future.

Why Prince Harry and Meghan are spotlighting Ellen Roome

Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have made building a better online world a consistent focus of their philanthropic work through Archewell. Their support for Ellen is part of that greater effort, and it is also personal in a broader sense. They have spoken publicly about online harassment, and they are raising two young children of their own, Prince Archie, now 6, and Princess Lilibet, now 4.

Archewell noted that Ellen met with the organization in New York City last year. Jools was also honored through the Lost Screen Memorial, which recognizes children whose lives ended after harmful effects connected to social media.

In their message, Archewell tied Ellen’s work to a wider community of parents who have had to turn grief into action. “Ellen’s strength isn’t unique; it’s what we’ve seen from every bereaved parent we’ve worked with. Their grief becomes purpose. Their loss becomes advocacy. And now, their fight has become law,” the post said.

It also offered a direct word to parents currently living through this nightmare: “To parents currently facing this struggle: you should never have been put through this. Change is possible. Ellen has proven it.”

Then came the line that sums up why this kind of advocacy matters so much: “One parent can change everything. Thousands of families will now have answers because Ellen Roome refused to back down and give up,” the post concluded. “Thank you, Ellen, and all of our courageous parents.”

The Parents Network and the push for a safer online world

Ellen’s story fits into a larger conversation that is getting harder to ignore. On Feb. 11, the BBC reported that Prince Harry spoke to grieving families who have lodged a legal challenge against Instagram and YouTube. This comes as a major trial begins to investigate whether platforms harm young people’s mental health.

In 2022, Harry and Meghan helped begin The Parents’ Network. It is described as a community for families who lost a child to suicide connected to social media, or whose children have struggled because of online harms.

In 2023, Archewell hosted a Parents’ Summit for World Mental Health Day. It brought together parents who had experienced tragic loss connected to their child’s social media use, with an emphasis on building community and pushing for a safer online world.

In an August 2024 CBS Sunday Morning segment with Jane Pauley, Meghan put the parenting instinct into plain words: “All you want to do as parents is protect them. So as we can see what’s happening in the online space, we know that there’s a lot of work to be done there, and we’re just happy to be able to be a part of change for good.”

Harry added a warning that many parents feel in their gut, even if they cannot always name it: “At this point, we’ve got to the stage where almost every parent needs to be a first responder. And even the best first responders in the world wouldn’t be able to tell the signs of possible suicide. That is the terrifying piece of this.”

What happens next

Archewell has continued to evolve how it supports families. After announcing a partnership between the Parents Network and ParentsTogether in October 2025, Archewell granted ParentsTogether the full operational capacity and structure of the network, including systems and processes, brand, and creative assets.

Harry and Meghan are expected to remain involved in some capacity, although no formal decisions about their ongoing role had been finalized as of January.

For families, laws like Jools’ Law do not erase grief. Nothing can. But preserving a child’s online records can help parents seek truth, accountability, and understanding.

And if that leads to better safeguards for the next child, then Ellen Roome’s decision to keep pushing will continue to matter, long after the headlines move on.

TL;DR

• Ellen Roome began campaigning after the death of her 14-year-old son, Jools, in 2022.
• She sought access to his social media accounts to understand what happened, but companies refused based on data protection policies and terms of service.
• Her advocacy led to an amendment to the United Kingdom’s Crime and Policing Bill known as Jools’ Law.
• Jools’ Law ensures a child’s social media records will be preserved in the event of their death, helping families seek answers.
• Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, through Archewell Philanthropies, publicly spotlighted Ellen’s work and the broader movement of bereaved parents.
• Their wider efforts include The Parents’ Network, a support and advocacy community launched in 2022 for families affected by online harms.
• Harry and Meghan have also spoken with families pursuing legal challenges against major platforms as concerns grow about social media and youth mental health.
• Archewell partnered with ParentsTogether in October 2025 to provide operational support for the Parents Network, with Harry and Meghan expected to stay involved in some form.

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This article was made with AI assistance and human editing.

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