Meghan says she is deeply distressed by abuse-material allegations against her father
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The gist
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, said she is deeply distressed by allegations her father possessed child sex abuse images.
Her statement ties the family estrangement to protecting her children.
Background
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is the wife of Prince Harry and mother of Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, and has been estranged from her father, Thomas Markle Sr., since 2018. Thomas Markle Sr. is an 82-year-old retired television lighting and photography director based in the U.S.; he did not attend Meghan's 2018 wedding to Prince Harry. The story broke after her half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr., reported their father to police, and it has drawn fresh scrutiny to the 2019 police letter Meghan says she sent about her father.
How it unfolded
- 2018Meghan says a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection making troubling allegations against her father, and that it was shared with her. Her father did not attend her wedding to Prince Harry that year.
- 2019The Metropolitan Police confirmed it received a letter making a number of claims relating to Meghan's father, shared it with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at the time, and did not pass the contents to other law enforcement agencies.
- 2025Meghan sent her father a letter, understood to have been sent while he was in hospital in the Philippines after having his leg amputated, telling him he would never meet his grandchildren.
- May 2026Images were reportedly found in his home in the Philippines after he returned to the U.S. in May, Philippine officials said.
- Oct 22, 2026The Sun first reported the allegations, saying his son had informed police after finding hundreds, if not thousands, of child sex abuse images in boxes at his father's home.
- Oct 23, 2026Meghan issued a statement saying she is deeply distressed. The Philippine Department of Justice said it is investigating reports involving an octogenarian American national who left child abuse videos and photos in his home in Cebu province, and Thomas Markle Sr. denied the allegations, calling them sick lies.
- Oct 24, 2026The Metropolitan Police confirmed it received a letter in 2019 making a number of claims relating to Meghan's father and said it is reviewing its handling of the matter.
- Oct 25, 2026The Sun on Sunday first reported details of Meghan's 2025 letter to her father.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Meghan said she is deeply distressed and that her thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed, calling what has been uncovered more sickening than one could imagine and hoping justice will be fully served.
- Support
- Meghan said her distance from her father and her choice not to allow him contact with her children was for one reason: to protect them, and that she trusted the authorities were doing the same for other families.
- Denial
- Thomas Markle Sr. called the allegations sick lies and the worst thing anyone could accuse him of, saying he is shocked, hurt and upset that his son is making these accusations.
- Party
- Thomas Markle Jr., quoted by The Sun, said he won't speak to his father ever again unless he is called to give evidence against him.
- Official
- The Metropolitan Police said it received a letter in 2019 making a number of claims relating to Meghan's father, shared it with the Duke and Duchess at the time, did not pass the contents to other agencies, and is now reviewing its handling of the matter.
Still unverified
The allegations against Thomas Markle Sr. are reported claims, and he denies all of them. NBC News said it could not immediately identify a contact for Markle Sr., whom the Daily Mail reported was in a Florida rehab center recovering from surgery; the FBI, Cebu City police and London's Metropolitan Police did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and ABC News said it had not been able to reach Thomas Markle Sr. or Thomas Markle Jr.