Meghan Markle is no longer hiding the reason she cut ties with Thomas Markle Sr. In a statement released through her spokesperson, she confirmed receiving a letter in 2018 containing "disturbing allegations" against her father, which she said was shared with the Metropolitan Police’s Royalty and Specialist Protection unit. She stated she was assured the claims were under investigation at the time.
The Duchess said she was "deeply distressed" by the recent reports that her half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, allegedly found "hundreds, if not thousands" of child sexual abuse images on devices at their father’s former home in Cebu, Philippines. Markle Sr has vehemently denied the claims, calling them "sick lies" in a Daily Mail interview. He noted the computers were not in his possession when he moved from Mexico to the Philippines in January 2025.
For years, media narratives have framed the Markle family rift around the 2018 wedding scandal, where the King (then Prince of Wales) had to walk Meghan down the aisle after her father’s absence. Meghan’s new statement shifts the focus entirely. "I hope it can now be understood that... 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," she wrote.
The timeline remains murky. It is unclear if the 2018 letter arrived before or after the May 2018 wedding at Windsor Castle. What is clear is that Thomas Markle Sr has never met Archie or Lilibet. The former lighting director is now undergoing rehabilitation in Florida after a leg amputation in December 2025.
The Metropolitan Police and Markle’s representatives have not yet responded to BBC requests for comment. The next move likely rests with Philippine authorities, who are expected to examine the devices Markle Jr claims to have discovered.