The Duchess of Sussex has said she is “deeply distressed” by accusations that her father, Thomas Markle Sr, had a hoard of child sex abuse images.
Meghan’s half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, alleged he had found a stash of images belonging to her father at his former home in the Philippines, the Sun reported.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Thomas Sr denied possessing child sex images, calling the accusations “sick lies”.
2018 letter and police investigation
Authorities in the UK had previously told the Duchess that allegations made about her father in a 2018 letter sent to Scotland Yard and subsequently shared with her by police were being investigated, it is understood. It is not clear if this came before Meghan and Harry’s wedding in May of that year.
In a statement first reported by the Sun and issued to the Press Association, Meghan said: “I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours, and my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed.
“In 2018, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection. That letter was subsequently shared with me.
“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.”
Family estrangement and background
Meghan became estranged from her former TV lighting director father in the run-up to her 2018 royal wedding after he was caught staging paparazzi photographs.
Mr Markle did not attend the wedding, leaving the King to accompany Meghan down the aisle and meaning the only member of her family present was her mother Doria Ragland. Meghan was the only child of Mr Markle’s marriage to Ms Ragland, though he has two children – Samantha Markle and Thomas Jr – from an earlier marriage.
In 2021, Meghan won a High Court privacy and copyright claim against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over articles that reproduced parts of a “personal and private” handwritten letter she wrote to Mr Markle in a bid to get him to stop talking to the press. She penned the emotional five-page letter to him in August 2018 after taking advice from two unnamed senior royals.
Recent developments and current status
In 2025, Mr Markle moved to the Philippines for a new life after suffering a series of strokes. Then, in December of that year he had his leg amputated during life-saving surgery.
Meghan “reached out” to him in the aftermath of the operation, a spokesperson for the duchess revealed, with Meghan also said to have tried to do so previously. He is reportedly now living in a rehab centre in Florida, where he is learning to walk again.
The Metropolitan Police has been contacted for comment.
