US authorities found sexually explicit photos that appeared to show Thomas Markle with prepubescent girls.
Published on November 6, 2026
The ex-father of Prince Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle, has been arrested in the United States for possession of child pornography.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday that Thomas Markle Sr. was arrested in Florida after law enforcement discovered “sexually explicit photographs” of him with prepubescent girls in two Los Angeles-area storage units that he rented for nearly two decades.
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“Mr. Markle allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions,” Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel said Thursday.
According to the Justice Department, authorities learned in October that an individual had signed an affidavit declaring that they had discovered child pornography among Markle’s possessions in the Philippines.
Law enforcement interviewed another person who told them the 82-year-old had rented a storage unit near Los Angeles since 2008. Information gathered from the first person led to the discovery of a second unit.
After receiving arrest warrants, the Justice Department said FBI agents searched both units registered to Thomas. Inside, they found 78 items, including photos, film negatives and books containing explicit images of him with underage girls.
The affidavit described three of those photographs. Two showed a man, identified by a witness as Thomas, with a naked prepubescent girl. The third photo shows a naked minor in what appears to be a hotel room in the Philippines.
Officials, according to the affidavit, also found photos that appeared to show Thomas with “children in various stages of undress.”
Thomas was living in the Philippines earlier this year when he suffered a stroke and had his left leg amputated. This forced him to return to the United States.
“Deeply distressed”
Meghan released a statement to the New York Times in October, saying she first became aware of the allegations against her father in 2018, when a letter detailing them was sent to the London Metropolitan Police unit then handling his security.
“I am deeply distressed by the news that has come to light over the past 24 hours,” the Duchess of Sussex wrote to The Times, apparently referring to reporting by the Sun, a British tabloid, about the allegations. “My thoughts are with all the children who may have been hurt.”
“I hope we can now understand that, despite the distortions of certain media publications over the years, any distance from my father and my choice not to allow him to have contact with our children was for one reason only: to protect them,” she added.
Thomas’ arrest comes as President Donald Trump’s administration has been criticized for its handling of child abuse cases, particularly the release of files from the investigation of convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Last year, King Charles stripped Prince Andrew of his princely title as he tried to protect the royal family from the scandal surrounding his brother’s relationship with Epstein.
Meghan, Prince Harry and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, returned to the UK in August.
The Associated Press attempted to reach Meghan’s representative on Friday but has not yet received a response.
Thomas Markle is expected to appear in a Florida court on Friday. If convicted, the Justice Department said he could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in a U.S. federal prison.
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