Meghan Markle has opened up on her suicidal thoughts while pregnant, as she and husband Prince Harry launch a network to help struggling children.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex sat down with CBS Sunday Morning host Jane Pauley for a rare joint interview that screened on Sunday (US time) – which was also Meghan’s 43rd birthday.

They were there to discuss their new program to help children and parents deal with social media, called The Parents Network.

“All you want to do as parents is protect them. And 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,” Meghan told Pauley.

“We’re just happy to be able to be a part of a change for good.”

Harry and Meghan’s pre-recorded interview also showed footage of them meeting parents whose children have died in suicide.

Meghan also discussed the couple’s children – three-year-old Lilibet and five-year-old Archie – saying “they’re amazing, but all you want to do as parents is protect them”.

Meghan have previously revealed struggling with thoughts of suicide while pregnant with Archie. She first revealed the depths of her mental health issues during her time in the British royal family in the couple’s bombshell 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.

“I just didn’t want to be alive any more,” the duchess told Winfrey.

“That was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought. And I remember how [Harry] just cradled me.”

She went on to accuse the royals and their staff of failing to help her.

“I went to the institution, and I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help. I said that I’ve never felt this way before and I need to go somewhere. And I was told that I couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the institution,” Meghan said at the time.

Today’s the day.

Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A Primetime Special airs tonight at 8/7c on @CBS. #OprahMeghanHarry pic.twitter.com/hHFppSFrW8

— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) March 7, 2021

On Sunday, she told Pauley there was a “through line” between her experience and the risks to children and teenagers.

“When you’ve been through any level of pain or trauma, I believe part of our healing journey, certainly part of mine, is being able to be really open about it,” she said.

“I haven’t really scraped the surface on my experience, but I do think I would never want someone else to feel that way and I would never want someone else to be making those sort of plans.

“I would never want someone else not to be believed. If me voicing what I have overcome will save someone or encourage someone in their life to really genuinely check in on them and not assume ‘the appearance is good, so everything is OK’, then that’s worth it. I’ll take a hit for that.”

She and Harry, 39, specifically pointed to social media as an indicator of suicide among teenagers.

“It could happen to absolutely anybody,” the duke said.

“We always talk about in the olden days, if kids are under your roof, you know what they are up to. At least they’re safe.

“But now, they could in the next room, in a tablet or phone, going down these rabbit holes, and within 24 hours they could be taking their life.”

When Pauley said “you hope that when your children ask for help, someone is there to give it”, Harry responded “if you know to help”.

“At this point we’ve got to the stage where almost every parent needs to be a first responder,” he said.

“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.”

Meghan said parents needed to ask: ‘What if this was my son or daughter?’

“Your son or daughter who come home who are joyful, who I love, and one day, right under my roof, our entire lives change because of something that’s completely out of my control,” she said.

“If you look at this as a parent, there is no way to see it any other way than to try to find a solution.”

Lifeline 131 114

Kids Helpline 1800 551 800 (for people aged 5 to 25)

-with AAP