breaking-news, Meghan Sussex

Thomas Markle Allegations: What’s Known

Summary

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, said on 23 October 2026 that she learned of allegations against her father in 2018. She says that is why she kept him away from her children.

Her statement followed a report in The Sun on 22 October. In it, her half-brother Thomas Markle Jr said he found child sexual abuse material among their father’s belongings in the Philippines.

Thomas Markle Sr, 82, denies the claims. The Philippine Department of Justice has confirmed an investigation, and the FBI says it will support Philippine authorities. None of the allegations has been proven.

Meghan’s statement

Meghan gave the statement on Friday 23 October to several outlets, including CBS News, PEOPLE and Sky News. It makes four points:

  • She is distressed by the news and her thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed.
  • In 2018 a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and its Royalty and Specialist Protection unit, then shared with her. It made allegations against her father, and she was assured they were being investigated.
  • Her distance from her father, and her refusal to let him meet Archie and Lilibet, was solely to protect them.
  • She hopes justice is served and that children’s safety stays the priority.

The statement does not say who wrote the letter, what it alleged, or who gave her the assurances. It also does not claim her father was under investigation, only that she was told he was. ITV reports she saw the letter after her May 2018 wedding.

The allegations

The allegations come from Thomas Markle Jr, 60, Meghan’s half-brother, speaking to The Sun. His account so far has not been confirmed by any authority.

  • What he says he found: child sexual abuse images and videos on computers and a phone. They were in four storage boxes his father left at his former home in Cebu, Philippines, when he returned to the US earlier this year.
  • When: July 2026, while looking through the boxes for a phone for his fiancée.
  • Who he told: the FBI tip line, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and Pennsylvania state police. He took the material to police in Cebu this week.
  • His position now: he says he will not speak to his father again unless called to give evidence.

The 2018 letter

The letter reportedly accused Thomas Sr of sexually abusing a child, a more serious claim than possessing images. Its author has not been identified, and its contents are unverified.

  • Contents: according to the Daily Mail, the author also claimed Thomas Sr had admitted travelling to Thailand and the Philippines to abuse children. The Sun says it has seen a copy.
  • Where it went: reportedly the Met’s Fixated Threat Assessment Centre. That unit assesses threats to the Royal Family and other high-profile people; it does not investigate crimes abroad.
  • When Meghan saw it: reportedly summer 2018, shortly after her wedding.

The Met says it has never investigated Thomas Sr and is not doing so now. PEOPLE notes he lives outside the UK; in 2018 he lived in Rosarito, Mexico. The Met is making internal enquiries into whether its protection officers passed the letter to Meghan. It has not said whether it shared the information with any foreign police force.

Official responses

Only the Philippine Department of Justice has confirmed an active investigation. The other bodies have made narrower statements.

BodyWhat it has said
Philippine Department of JusticeIts anti-trafficking and online child exploitation task force is investigating an American national in his 80s in Cebu. It has not named him.
FBIAware of the allegations; will support Philippine authorities and investigate any related breaches of US law. It has not confirmed opening its own case.
Metropolitan PoliceMaking internal enquiries into whether its officers passed on a letter in 2018. Has not investigated Thomas Sr.
Buckingham PalaceDeclined to say whether King Charles knew of the letter; called it a matter for the Sussexes.

The denial

Thomas Sr told the Daily Mail the allegations are “sick lies” and that he has never had such material. He is back in the US, in rehabilitation after having his left leg amputated, and says he is considering legal action.

His defence rests on two points:

  • Custody of the devices: he says the computers were boxed up in January 2025 when he moved from Mexico to the Philippines, and have not been in his possession since. He says he would welcome a forensic examination to show when the material was downloaded.
  • Motive: he says his financial support for Thomas Jr stopped in July 2026, after a family member found Jr had been taking money from his account. He suggests Jr is acting for money.

Meghan’s half-sister Samantha, 61, his main caregiver in Florida, backs him. She says the computers were out of his hands for two years, leaving room for tampering. She also says the claims surfaced days after the money was cut off.

Open questions

The forensic examination of the devices is likely to matter most. It could show when the material was downloaded and who had the devices at the time.

  • If the Met never investigated, who told Meghan in 2018 that the allegations were being investigated?
  • Did anyone pass the letter’s claims to Mexican or US authorities, who could have acted?
  • Who wrote the 2018 letter, and what was their basis for the claims?
  • Will the FBI open its own case, or only support the Philippine one?
  • Thomas Jr says he found the material in July, the same month his father says the money stopped. He says he told US agencies then, but went to Cebu police only this week. Each side reads that timing differently.

A note on sourcing

Most of the detail comes from two tabloids, one for each side of the family. Only four things are on the record from the people or bodies involved: Meghan’s statement, and the statements from the Met, the FBI and the Philippine DOJ.

  • Thomas Jr’s account comes mainly through The Sun.
  • Thomas Sr’s and Samantha’s accounts come through the Daily Mail. The Mail has long been Thomas Sr’s outlet of choice, and Meghan successfully sued its publisher after the Mail on Sunday printed her letter to him.
  • One Daily Mail article says the Met “is investigating the claims,” then says it is not probing Thomas Sr. The Met is only making internal enquiries about the letter.

Timeline

DateEvent
23 Oct 2026Meghan’s statement. Thomas Sr denies the claims. The Met opens internal enquiries; the Philippine DOJ confirms its investigation; the FBI issues a statement.
22 Oct 2026The Sun publishes Thomas Jr’s allegations.
Week of 19 Oct 2026Thomas Jr takes the material to police in Cebu.
Jul 2026Thomas Jr says he found the material. Thomas Sr says his money to Jr stopped this month.
Early 2026Thomas Sr returns to the US for medical treatment, leaving boxes in Cebu.
Dec 2025Thomas Sr has his left leg amputated in the Philippines; Meghan writes to him in hospital.
Jan 2025Thomas Sr moves from Mexico to the Philippines. He says the computers were boxed up then.
Summer 2018The letter reportedly reaches Meghan.
19 May 2018Meghan marries Prince Harry; Thomas Sr does not attend after staged paparazzi photos.
2011Thomas Sr moves to Rosarito, Mexico.

Sources

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