The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been confronted with a deeply unsettling controversy upon their return to the United Kingdom after six years in the United States, as Meghan Markle’s father faces accusations of possessing child abuse images.
In an article published by The Sun on Friday, October 23, Meghan’s half-brother Thomas Markle Jr. claimed to have discovered a stock of images of a pedocriminal nature belonging to their father at his former residence in the Philippines. According to the tabloid, “hundreds, possibly thousands of images” were found.
Meghan ‘Deeply Distressed’
The wife of Prince Harry said she was “deeply distressed” in a statement released Friday to several British newspapers. She stated that she had become aware in 2018 of a letter sent to British police containing “disturbing allegations” concerning her father, and that she had subsequently allowed him no contact with her two children, Archie and Lilibet, aged 7 and 5, in order to “protect” them.
The Duchess of Sussex, 45, also indicated that she had “trusted the authorities to do the same for other families.”
Thomas Markle: ‘I Am in Shock’
In an interview with the Daily Mail from Florida, Thomas Markle, 82, rejected the accusations, which he described as a “pack of lies.”
“I am in shock, hurt and very upset by the accusations my son is making against me. I could never do what I am accused of. This is the worst thing anyone could accuse me of,” he said.
Meghan cut ties with her father before her 2018 wedding to the younger son of King Charles III. Thomas Markle had previously posed for paid paparazzi photos, which displeased the couple. She had re-established contact with her father in December 2025, during his hospitalization in the Philippines, where he underwent amputation of his left leg.
“Although the scale of what has just been revealed is more revolting than one could ever imagine, my most sincere wish is that justice be fully served and that the priority remain the safety and protection of innocent children,” Meghan Markle added in her statement.
