Meghan Markle's niece has spoken out in support of the Duchess's decision to prevent her children from having contact with Thomas Markle Sr, amid allegations that he possessed indecent images of children. Noelle Rasmussen, granddaughter of Thomas Markle, broke her silence days after reports emerged that Thomas Sr is under investigation for grave offences involving minors.
Rasmussen, the daughter of Meghan's half-sister Samantha Markle, revealed she consistently sensed a "vibe" suggesting something was not quite right about her grandfather, who has rejected all allegations and dismissed them as "sick lies". She added that she accepts whatever her grandmother, Roslyn Loveless, stated in her 2019 correspondence to the Met Police, which included claims about Thomas Sr, would have been accurate.
Speaking out after allegations surface
Speaking days after child abuse images were purportedly discovered at Thomas Sr's former Philippines residence by his son Thomas Markle Jr, Rasmussen stated she felt something was "off" with her grandfather during the limited time she spent in his company. She told The Telegraph: "Maybe it was a vibe that I subconsciously got... something's not right about a person, and you don't actively register it. But your body tells you when something's off."
She continued: "It's a disturbing allegation for everybody involved and everybody reading it. Nobody likes to hear things like that."
Letter to police not pursued
Meghan's niece stated she welcomed her uncle "whistleblowing", yet remained astonished that her grandmother's correspondence to police in 2019 was not pursued more thoroughly. Instead, the letter, which contained allegations against Thomas Sr that he has since denied, was passed on by police to Prince Harry and Meghan, who were reportedly led to believe that an investigation was in progress. This prompted Meghan to sever all ties with her father and ensure he would never have access to her family.
Rasmussen added: "It blows my mind [that it wasn't passed over to the FBI]. That is a failure on the police's part...that is such a failure of the system. It's embarrassing."
Family ties and strained relationships
Meghan's niece recalls only a handful of encounters with her grandfather throughout her childhood, which she attributed to the distance between them. She acknowledged that her grandmother harboured negative feelings towards him and recalled her grandmother composing the letter when she was 16, firmly believing she would have been truthful in its contents.
Rasmussen, who shared a close bond with her grandmother and alleges her own mother, Samantha, was abusive, was raised by her father. Samantha, who continues to stand by Thomas Sr, has consistently refuted the allegations Rasmussen has made against her. Reflecting on her grandmother, Rasmussen said: "If she put something in a letter, it's more than likely what she had seen to be the truth or what she had experienced. It was something she either saw, heard, or believed to be 100 per cent true." She added: "She just spoke the truth, no matter how ugly it was, and if she thought something was ugly, she would absolutely make a scene of it."
