The Metropolitan Police have confirmed they received a letter in January 2019 containing claims about alleged offending outside the UK relating to Meghan Markle's father, Thomas Markle Snr, and that the letter was passed to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
In a statement, Scotland Yard said: “Following a thorough review of Met Police systems and records, we have confirmed that in January 2019, we received a letter containing a number of claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom. It was sent to the MPS Protection Command to raise concerns in relation to the security of the Duchess of Sussex.”
Letter passed to Sussexes' office
The statement continued: “The letter was reviewed and a decision was made that it should be 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.”
Scotland Yard added: “The MPS is reviewing the handling of this matter in 2019 and considering whether a referral to the IOPC is necessary to review our approach.”
Meghan's statement on estrangement
The Duchess of Sussex had hinted that “disturbing allegations” about her father are the reason she has not allowed him to meet her children. Meghan claimed she saw a letter containing claims about Thomas Markle Snr in 2018, just weeks after she married Prince Harry, and was told the allegations were being investigated.
Meghan said in a statement: “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.”
Meghan has been estranged from her father since before her wedding, and he has never met her children, Archie and Lilibet. The Mirror understands Meghan received the letter from Scotland Yard in the summer of 2018, weeks after the royal wedding in May.
Philippines investigation
The duchess made her statement after it emerged that Mr Markle Snr is under investigation by police in the Philippines over alleged child sex images. Authorities in Cebu City, where Mr Markle Snr had been living, are reported to be investigating after being contacted by his son, Thomas Jnr. Mr Markle Snr denies possessing such images and has not been charged.
The 82-year-old moved to the south east Asian country last year from Mexico, before returning to Florida in May. He told the Daily Mail the computers where it was claimed images were found had not been in his possession since he left Mexico, adding: “I’m shocked, I’m hurt and I’m very upset that my son is making these accusations against me. I could never do what I’m being accused of.”
Meghan, 45, is the only child of Mr Markle Snr’s marriage to her mother, Doria Ragland, 70. He has two other children – Samantha, 61, and Thomas Jnr, 60. The duchess became estranged from her dad in the run-up to her wedding after he was caught staging paparazzi photographs, and he did not attend the wedding at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, saying he was unwell.
In August 2018, Meghan wrote an emotional five-page letter to her dad, a former TV lighting director, in a bid to stop him giving negative stories about her to the press. In 2021 she won a High Court privacy and copyright claim against the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday for reproducing parts of the letter.
Mr Markle Snr moved to the Philippines in January 2025. Last December, he had his leg amputated during life-saving surgery. He is reportedly now living in Florida. Mr Markle Snr has not spoken to Meghan since she married Harry, 42, and has never met Archie, seven, or five-year-old Lilibet. He said last year: “I don’t want to die estranged from Meghan.” In 2020, Harry and Meghan quit as working royals and moved to California, and they returned to live in the UK this summer.
