Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, said Friday she was "deeply distressed" after The Sun reported that her estranged father, Thomas Markle Sr., had been accused of possessing child sexual abuse images. The tabloid's report, built on an account from Meghan's half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr., said he had alerted an FBI hotline and Philippine authorities after discovering hundreds, possibly thousands, of such images among belongings left at their 82-year-old father's former home in the Philippines.

In her statement, Meghan said she had been shown a letter, sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection, that made "troubling and disturbing allegations" against her father, and that she was given assurances the matter was being investigated. She said she believed this had happened in 2018. On Saturday, after the Met said its own records showed the letter arrived in January 2019, a spokesperson for Meghan said she "may have been mistaken by a few months," explaining that she was "doing her best to recall the precise timing of events that were not diarised." Press reporting on the Met's handling of the matter has indicated the force never opened an investigation into Thomas Markle Sr. himself, noting it would have had no jurisdiction over alleged offending outside the United Kingdom; the Met's own statement did not say whether any investigation was opened at the time, in Britain or elsewhere.

Meghan said the episode explained a decision she made years ago to limit her father's contact with her children. "I hope it can now be understood," she said, that despite "certain media publications' distortion over the years," the distance was "for one reason: to protect them." She did not revisit her father's admission that he staged paparazzi photographs before her 2018 wedding or his absence from the ceremony, but she did describe what has since come to light as "more sickening than one could ever imagine," adding that her hope was that "justice will be fully served."

Thomas Markle Sr. denied the allegations. "I'm shocked, I'm hurt and I'm very upset that my son is making these accusations against me," he told the Daily Mail. "I could never do what I'm being accused of... This is bulls--t. It's just a bunch of lies." His daughter Samantha Markle told the Mail she believed the claims were fabricated by her brother and said their father "had no access to those computers for two years."

The Metropolitan Police said that after a review of its systems and records, it confirmed receiving a letter in January 2019 "containing a number of claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom," sent to its Protection Command to raise concerns about the Duchess of Sussex's security. The force said details of the letter were not shared with other law enforcement agencies, and that it is now reviewing how the matter was handled in 2019 and considering whether to refer itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. That review concerns the force's own handling of the 2019 letter; it is separate from, and should not be read as, an investigation into the abuse allegations reported this week.

In the Philippines, the Justice Department's child abuse unit told CNN the matter was "under investigation." The FBI said in a statement it was "aware of the allegations" and would "provide support, as appropriate, to the Philippine authorities," adding it would "also investigate any related allegations of federal violations of U.S. law."

Meghan's relationship with her father has been strained since before her wedding, though it has not been without contact. She wrote him a handwritten letter in August 2018, parts of which were later published by a British tabloid and became the subject of a privacy lawsuit she won. Last December, after Thomas Markle Sr. underwent a leg amputation in a Philippine hospital, her spokesperson said Meghan had reached out to him and that a letter from her reached him at his bedside. Prince Harry has never met his father-in-law in person.

What remains publicly unresolved is the outcome of the separate inquiries now underway: the Philippine investigation into the abuse allegations themselves, any related examination by the FBI, and the Met's internal review of how it handled the 2019 letter.

References

1. 1.NBC News — text of Meghan's Friday statement, including the 2018 letter claim and 'distortion over the years' quote
2. 2.Yahoo/Marie Claire/CBC — Meghan's quote calling the allegations 'more sickening than one could ever imagine' and hope that 'justice will be fully served'
3. 3.CNN — Philippines Justice Department child abuse unit confirming the matter is 'under investigation'; Sun reporting on FBI hotline and belongings left at the former home
4. 4.ABC News — FBI statement that it is 'aware of the allegations' and will 'investigate any related allegations of federal violations of U.S. law'
5. 5.azat.tv — reporting that the Met is not investigating Thomas Markle Sr. because of lack of jurisdiction over alleged offending abroad, and that its internal review concerns handling of the letter
6. 6.Daily Mail — Thomas Markle Sr.'s denial and Samantha Markle's comments
7. 7.Yahoo News — background on the Met Police confirmation and Thomas Markle Sr.'s denial