Prince Harry was left twiddling his thumbs in silence after a technical fault during a landmark speech in New York.
The Duke of Sussex, 42, made a solo appearance at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting to warn about the dangers of AI for children online.
Speaking at the first mainstage session on Wednesday called Getting Disruption Right, Harry, who is dad to Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, said: "Social media learned how to capture our attention. AI is learning how to enter our relationships."
But as he reached the seven-minute mark, Harry unexpectedly had to cut his speech short.
© Getty ImagesHe had said: "The damage was already done to a generation of children and parents. We do not have years for what comes next", before giving a long pause and adding: "And that’s it."
The Duke was then left pacing without being able to read the rest of his speech, before placing his microphone down and walking off stage.
A spokesman for the Duke confirmed there had been a fault with the teleprompter.
Around 40 minutes later, after other presentations in the sessions, Harry was welcomed back onto the stage, quipping: "Hello again. So AI got into my speech, so I was asked to come out and finish it. Interesting to see what it was so concerned about."
Prince Harry returns to the US after arriving in the UK
Harry has travelled back to the US for his first public appearance stateside since returning to live in the UK.
The two-day CGI annual meeting is being hosted by former US president Bill Clinton, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton in a bid to bring together leaders to help solve the urgent global issues.
Harry said in an impassioned speech: "It’s the same playbook that built the last crisis – only now the technology is more persuasive, more intimate and more powerful. And there is another difference this time.
© Getty Images"Social media learned how to capture our attention. AI is learning how to enter our relationships."
He added: "It doesn’t just want your attention; it wants your attachment. It wants to be the thing you confide in. The thing that remembers you.
"The thing that tells you it understands you. The ultimate sycophant. For a child, that distinction matters enormously.
© Instagram"We have spent years trying to loosen technology’s grip on children’s attention. We cannot wait another decade to discover what happens when technology has a grip on their relationships."
In the second part of his speech, the Duke of Sussex said he was speaking "as a father".
Harry and Meghan's poignant passion project
Harry and his wife Meghan Markle's Archewell Foundation launched the Parents Network in 2024 as a support network for parents of children affected by online harm.
The Duke walked across the stage against a backdrop of lock screen photos of children who took their own lives or suffered serious harm through experiences on social media.
© Getty ImagesHe addressed the rapid development of AI and the concerns raised by those building AI systems.
And he spoke of the progress in American courts against firms such as Meta and moves to ban youngsters’ access to social media, but he added: "Bans, settlements, and payouts are incomplete remedies. Bans do nothing to address dangerous design."
The Duke made his appearance as his uncle Earl Spencer continued to defend his controversial memoir about Diana, Princess of Wales.
