Updated October 23, 2026, 10:02 a.m. ET
Duchess Meghan is speaking out about the police investigation into her estranged father Thomas Markle, Sr., who is reportedly under investigation for an alleged stash of child sexual images.
The duchess said she was first informed of the “disturbing allegations” against her father in 2018 and expressed hope that people would finally understand why she had had no contact with the 82-year-old.
“I am deeply distressed by the news that has come to light over the past 24 hours and my thoughts are with all the children who may have been harmed,” Meghan said in a statement shared on Friday (October 23).
The statement comes after The Sun newspaper reported on Thursday (October 22) that police were investigating Meghan’s father over “hundreds” of child sexual images allegedly discovered inside his Philippines home by his son, Thomas Jr.
In the lengthy statement, the Duchess said the reason she hadn’t had a relationship with her father for several years stemmed from a desire to protect her children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, from their maternal grandfather.
“In 2018 a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royal and Specialist Protection. This letter was then shared with me. It contained disturbing and worrying allegations against my father and I was assured that they were being investigated,” she said.
“I hope we can now understand that, despite the distortion of certain media publications over the years, any distance from my father and my choice not to allow him to have contact with our children, was for one reason only: to protect them.
Meghan said she “trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families.”
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Thomas Markle denied the allegations against him, calling them “sick lies.” He said his son’s claims that he possessed such images were “the worst thing anyone could accuse me of”.
“I have no idea why Tom is trying to destroy me with these lies,” Markle said.
The FBI is set to launch its own investigation into Markle, who now lives in the United States, the Sun reported.
USA TODAY has contacted the FBI and British police for comment.
“While the scale of what has been uncovered is more sickening than anyone 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,” Meghan’s statement concluded.
What are the allegations against Thomas Markle, Meghan’s father?
According to The Sun, Meghan’s half-brother Thomas Jr. found the alleged images and videos of child sexual abuse in his father’s home in Cebu, Philippines. The images were found on a cell phone and laptop computers, which Thomas Jr. allegedly discovered in storage boxes at his father’s home.
“When I discovered this material, I was horrified and had no choice but to report my father,” Thomas Jr. told the outlet. “I will never speak to my father again unless I am called to testify against him.”
The storage boxes were left in Cebu when the elder Markle returned to his home country.
The Sun reported that among the alleged images were videos of victims appearing in sexual acts. They don’t appear to be more than 10 or 11 years old.
Thomas Jr. also told The Sun that one of the images he discovered was a photo taken of the screen of a laptop that was in a room he recognized in his father’s former home in Rosarito, Mexico.
Markle Sr. returned to the United States in May after suffering a stroke and had his left leg amputated in December. He is currently in a rehabilitation center in Florida, where he is learning to walk again, the Daily Mail reported.
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