Allegations concerning Thomas Markle Sr have brought his long-running estrangement from his daughter, the Duchess of Sussex, back into the spotlight, after reports that child sexual abuse material was found at his former home in the Philippines.
The material was allegedly discovered by Meghan Markle’s half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, who is said to have alerted detectives. No charges have been laid, and Markle Sr has denied the claims, describing them as “sick lies”.
His other daughter, Samantha Markle, has also rejected the allegations, saying: “There is no merit to these disgusting allegations.” Markle Sr is understood to be in a stroke rehabilitation facility in the United States.
Meghan said she was “deeply distressed” by the reports and expressed concern for any children who may have been harmed. She also said she had been aware of allegations about her father since 2018, when a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection.
“It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated,” she said.
The Duchess added that her decision to remain distant from her father, and not allow him to meet her children Archie and Lilibet, had been taken to protect them.
“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,” she said.
The letter and the police investigation
The Metropolitan Police later confirmed that it had received a letter relating to Markle Sr in 2019 and that it had been shared with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The force said it had not passed on the contents of the letter shared with the couple.
The letter is reported to have been written by Markle Sr’s former wife, Roslyn Loveless, who died in 2024. The Metropolitan Police has voluntarily referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct over its decision not to inform other law enforcement agencies and to pass the letter to the Sussexes’ office.
Meghan and her father have been estranged for years. Their relationship came under intense scrutiny in 2018, when Markle Sr withdrew from attending her wedding to Prince Harry shortly before the ceremony after suffering a heart attack.
He had been expected to walk his daughter down the aisle, but Prince Charles, now King Charles, took his place. Markle Sr was also involved in controversy over reports that he had staged photographs with paparazzi before the wedding.
Afterwards, he gave a series of media interviews in which he said he had been shut out by the royal family and was unable to contact Meghan. “I love you very much, you’re my daughter and I would really like to hear from you,” he said in one interview. “Whatever differences we have, we should be able to work them out.”
In 2019, the Mail on Sunday published extracts from a private, five-page handwritten letter Meghan had sent to her father, asking him to stop speaking to the media. Meghan and Harry subsequently brought legal action, and the High Court ruled in her favour, finding that publication of the extracts was unlawful and a “manifestly excessive” misuse of private information.
The Court of Appeal upheld that decision in December 2021. Meghan has not been publicly confirmed to have spoken to her father since the wedding, although her representatives said she reached out after he underwent a leg amputation in the Philippines in December 2025. Markle Sr later said he was confused by reports of contact and had not heard from his daughter.
