Meghan Markle reveals why she kept her children away from father Thomas Markle after disturbing allegations surfaced

Fresh allegations that Thomas Markle possessed child sexual abuse material have emerged after his son, Thomas Markle Jr., reportedly claimed to have discovered the material among his father’s belongings in the Philippines. The claims have renewed scrutiny of a separate development from 2018, when a letter containing allegations against Meghan Markle’s estranged father was sent to British police. Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, said on October 23 that she was “deeply distressed” by the latest reports and explained that her decision to keep her children away from their grandfather was intended to protect them.

The allegations have once again drawn attention to Meghan’s strained relationship with her 82-year-old father, who has denied possessing the alleged material. The Sun reported the contents of the 2018 letter, but the allegations against Thomas Markle have not been established as fact. The Metropolitan Police has confirmed that it is conducting internal enquiries to establish whether officers were involved in passing on the letter. The force said it was not investigating Thomas Markle; Philippine authorities are investigating the newer allegations.

What did the 2018 letter allege?

According to The Sun, which reported seeing a copy of the letter, it was addressed to the Metropolitan Police’s Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (FTAC), a specialist unit that assesses potential threats involving public figures, including members of the royal family. The letter allegedly accused Thomas Sr. of sexually abusing a child and claimed he had spoken about travelling to the Philippines and Thailand to abuse children.

According to People, a MET spokesperson addressed: “We are aware of media reports that officers from the Met’s Royalty and Specialist Protection Command were involved in the passing on of a letter in 2018. We are undertaking enquiries internally in an effort to confirm this.”

The spokesperson also said the Met had not previously investigated, and was not currently investigating, a man in his 80s living outside the United Kingdom.

In July, the Duchess of Sussex’s half-brother, Thomas Jr. claimed he discovered the alleged material while searching four storage boxes containing his father's belongings for a phone for his fiancée, Rose. He said one device displayed graphic images and that opening a computer revealed hundreds of disturbing thumbnails, along with a video involving a young girl.

“His desktop was full of row upon row of thumbnail pictures linking to the most sickening child abuse imaginable,” Thomas Jr. said, per The Sun. “The worst of the worst.”

Thomas Sr. categorically denied downloading the material, saying, “I have never downloaded anything like that in my life.” He offered to have his computers forensically examined to establish whether the material had been downloaded while the devices were in his possession. “These terrible lies are being made against me with no proof,” he said.

Meghan explains why her children were kept away

In a statement published by People on October 23, Meghan said the letter had contained allegations she considered troubling and disturbing. She added that she had been assured they were being investigated.

The Duchess said: “I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications’ distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children was for one reason: to protect them. I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families. Although the breadth of what has now been uncovered is more sickening than one could ever imagine, my sincerest hope is that justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children.”

Thomas Sr. also spoke about his deteriorating health and the breakdown of his relationship with Meghan, telling the Daily Mail that they had been close until she met Prince Harry. He said he regretted posing for paparazzi photographs before their 2018 wedding, after which he suffered two heart attacks and could not walk his daughter down the aisle.

His health has continued to decline: he returned to the US in May for treatment and recently received a third heart stent after doctors reportedly found his heart was functioning at 30 per cent capacity.