A court in the Philippines has granted a warrant allowing police to examine digital devices and hard drives allegedly belonging to Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas Markle Sr, who is being investigated over allegations of possessing child sex abuse images.
Meghan’s half-brother, Thomas Jr, claimed he found a stash of the images belonging to their father at his former home in the Philippines and reported it to local police and the FBI.
Warrant granted for device searches
Last week, four boxes of materials allegedly found in Mr Markle Sr’s former home in the Philippines are said to have been handed over to authorities. It is understood the boxes contained computers, phones, hard drives and old video tapes. But officers in the city of Cebu required a warrant issued by a court before they were able to search any of the materials.
The warrant has been granted today, according to the BBC, which means searches on the items can begin. Mr Markle Sr, who is now based in the US, denies all such "sick" allegations and vowed to 'do whatever it takes' to clear his name. He told the Mail the computers had not been in his possession since he left Mexico with his son in 2025 and moved overseas "for a fresh start".
Met refers itself to watchdog
It comes as the UK police watchdog has launched an investigation into the failure by the Metropolitan Police to pass on allegations it received about Mr Markle Sr. Scotland Yard did not inform other law enforcement agencies about a letter it received in 2019 that "contained claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom" by Mr Markle Sr. It was later passed to his daughter, the Duchess of Sussex.
The letter, understood to have been written by Mr Markle Sr's ex-wife, Roslyn Loveless, who has since died, came to light following claims he had a hoard of child sex abuse images. The Metropolitan Police has now referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct and is in the process of finally passing on the allegations to foreign law enforcement.
Commander's statement on 2019 letter
Commander Adam Slonecki, who leads the Met’s Protection Command, said: "In January 2019, the Met received a letter addressed to our Protection Command, specifically the Fixated Threats Assessment Centre.
"The author of the letter suggested they were writing to raise concerns relating to the security of the Duchess of Sussex. While the letter did not actually contain any information specifically related to security matters, it did contain a number of claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom.
"The letter was assessed and subsequently passed to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their awareness. The details of the allegations in the letter were not shared with other law enforcement agencies.
"In recent days, the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards has carried out an initial review into our actions following receipt of the letter in 2019.
"Following that review, a voluntary referral has been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in respect of the decision not to inform other law enforcement agencies, and the decision to pass the letter to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
"In addition, it is our intention to make a number of referrals to relevant overseas law enforcement agencies in relation to the allegations contained within the letter. That process is underway and will be completed in the coming days."
Meghan's statement and family background
The existence of the letter came to light when Meghan released a statement last week to say she was "deeply distressed" at the allegations levelled against her father. She said of the letter: "It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated.
"I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications’ distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children was for one reason: to protect them.
"I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families. Although the breadth of what has now been uncovered is more sickening than one could ever imagine, my sincerest hope is that justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children."
Meghan is the only child of Mr Markle’s marriage to Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland, though he has two children – Samantha Markle and Thomas Jr – from an earlier marriage. The Duchess became estranged from her former TV lighting director dad in the run-up to her 2018 wedding after he was caught staging paparazzi photographs in the days before the ceremony at St George’s Chapel in Windsor.
He had been due to give his daughter away but did not attend the wedding, claiming he was unwell. It left the King to partially accompany Meghan down the aisle, and the only family member she had present at the nuptials was her mum, Doria.
In January 2025, Mr Markle Sr moved to the Philippines for a new life after suffering a series of strokes. Last December, he had his leg amputated during life-saving surgery. At the time, Meghan "reached out" to him, a spokesperson for the Duchess revealed, saying she had tried to do so previously.
He is reportedly now living in a rehab centre in Florida, where he is learning to walk again. He has not spoken to his daughter Meghan since she married Prince Harry in 2018, and has never met his grandchildren Prince Archie, seven, and five-year-old Princess Lilibet. He has made repeated appeals for his daughter to get in touch, and said last year: "I don't want to die estranged from Meghan."
