Meghan Markle's niece has said she supports the Duchess's decision not to allow her children to see Thomas Markle Sr. following accusations that he had child abuse sexual images.
Noelle Rasmussen, a granddaughter of Thomas Markle, spoke out days after it emerged that Thomas Sr. is being investigated for serious offences against children. Rasmussen, the daughter of Meghan's half-sister Samantha Markle, said she always had a "vibe" that something was off with her grandfather, who has denied all accusations against him and branded them "sick lies".
Niece's Concerns About Grandfather
Speaking days after child abuse images were allegedly found at Thomas Sr's ex-Philippines home by his son Thomas Markle Jr., Rasmussen said she felt something was "off" with her grandfather on the few occasions she spent time with him. 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."
"It's a disturbing allegation for everybody involved and everybody reading it. Nobody likes to hear things like that."
Rasmussen said she was glad that her uncle was "whistleblowing", but shocked that her grandmother's letter to the police in 2019 was never investigated further. Instead, the letter - which made accusations about Thomas Sr., which he has denied - was shared by police with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who were reportedly under the impression investigations were underway. It is this letter which made Meghan decide to cut all contact with her father and never let him near her family.
Letter to Police
Rasmussen said: "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."
Meghan's niece only saw her grandfather a few times when she was growing up, which she assumed was because he lived far away. She said she was aware her grandmother didn't like him. She said she remembered her grandmother writing the letter when she was 16 and believed her grandmother would have told the truth.
Rasmussen, who was close to her grandmother and claims her own mother Samantha was abusive, grew up with her father. Samantha, who is defending Thomas Sr., has always denied the claims Rasmussen made about her.
Support for Meghan's Decision
Talking about 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 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."
Meghan's niece said she was not "victimised" by her grandfather, and doesn't think he would have targeted anyone in his own family. However, she said the accusations against him have not been a surprise to her. She also said that she supports Meghan's decision not to let her children Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, ever go near Thomas Sr.
Investigations are believed to be under way by police in the Philippines regarding the alleged boxes of child sex abuse images found at Thomas Sr.'s home. He has not lived there since late 2025, having moved back to Florida in the US after having a leg amputation.
Thomas Sr. has denied all claims against him. He has said he has never slept with anyone under the age of 18, and that all the other accusations are "lies".
It is believed Meghan and her niece have not been in contact for years. In a statement last week, Meghan said she found the accusations against her father "distressing".
