The Duchess of Sussex said she was “deeply distressed” by accusations involving images of child sexual abuse against her estranged father, Thomas Markle Sr, and revealed she was informed of the “disturbing allegations” against him in 2018 by the Metropolitan Police.
Meghan released a statement after the Sun newspaper published claims that her half-brother Thomas Markle Jr claimed to have found a stash of images belonging to their father at his former home in the Philippines.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Markle Sr denied possessing images of child sexual abuse, calling the accusations “sick lies.”
It is understood that British authorities had previously told Meghan that allegations made about her father in a letter sent to Scotland Yard in 2018, and then shared with her by police, were being investigated.
In a statement through her spokesperson, Meghan said: “I am deeply distressed by the news that has come to light over the past 24 hours, and my thoughts are with all the children who may have been harmed.
“In 2018 a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royal and Specialist Protection. This letter was then shared with me. It contained disturbing and worrying allegations against my father and I was assured that they were being investigated.
“I hope that 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.
“I trusted that the authorities were doing the same thing for other families.
“While the scale of what has been uncovered is more sickening than anyone could ever imagine, I sincerely hope that justice is fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children. »
The 2018 letter was reportedly shared with Meghan by the Met Police’s Royalty Protection Unit and specialists.
Markle Sr has been estranged from the Duchess since he was unable to attend her wedding to Prince Harry due to health reasons, and has never met her grandchildren, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five.
The Sun reported that Markle Jr told detectives in the Philippines that he discovered “hundreds, if not thousands” of images of child sexual abuse on computers and cellphones stored in four large boxes in the Cebu home where Markle Sr lived until returning to the United States in May after having a stroke.
Markle Jr, 60, said he had also contacted the FBI in the US, the Sun reported.
Meghan’s father has vehemently denied possessing child sexual abuse images, telling the Daily Mail the accusations were “sick lies”.
He told the newspaper that the computers had not been in his possession since he left Rosarito, Mexico, with his son in January 2025 and moved to the Philippines “for a fresh start.”
Speaking from a rehabilitation center in Florida, where he is learning to walk with a prosthesis after his left leg was amputated due to a blood clot, he told the Mail: “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 accused of. It’s the worst thing I can be accused of.
“It’s bullshit. It’s just a bunch of lies. It’s crazy. I have no idea why Tom is trying to destroy me with these lies.”
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