The Met Police has confirmed it told the Duchess of Sussex about allegations relating to her estranged father in 2019, but did not pass them to any other law enforcement agencies.
Scotland Yard confirmed today that it received a letter in 2019 about a number of claims relating to Meghan's father and shared them with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The force added it was reviewing the handling of this matter, including whether it needs to be referred to the police watchdog.
Letter received in January 2019
A Met Police spokesperson said on Saturday afternoon: '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. 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. 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.'
Philippines investigation and family allegations
It comes after authorities in the Philippines said they are investigating allegations that Thomas Markle Sr, the father of the Duchess of Sussex, had a hoard of child sex abuse images. On Friday, Meghan said she was made aware of disturbing allegations about her father in 2018.
She said she was shown a letter sent to Scotland Yard eight years ago making troubling allegations against Thomas Markle Sr and she was assured that these were being investigated.
According to The Sun, Meghan's half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, alleged that he found a stash of images belonging to their father at his former home in the Philippines. He reportedly told police in the country that he discovered the child abuse pictures and videos mixed up with innocent family mementos. The newspaper said he also contacted FBI investigators in the US in July.
Thomas Markle Sr denies accusations
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Thomas Sr denied possessing child sex images, calling the accusations 'sick lies'. Mr Markle Snr said: '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. It's the worst thing anyone could accuse me of.'
'This is bulls***. It's just a bunch of lies. It's sick. I have no idea why Tom is trying to destroy me with these lies.'
Meghan was the only child of Mr Markle's marriage to Doria Ragland, though he has two children, Samantha and Thomas Jr, from an earlier marriage. In 2025, Mr Markle moved to the Philippines for a new life after suffering a series of strokes.
