Scotland Yard has confirmed that the Metropolitan Police received a letter in January 2019 containing multiple claims of alleged criminal conduct outside the United Kingdom involving Thomas Markle, the estranged father of the Duchess of Sussex. Police stated that the correspondence was sent to the MPS Protection Command to address potential security concerns regarding Meghan, and officers subsequently passed the information to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their awareness.
In a statement issued following a review of internal records, the Metropolitan Police disclosed that the specific details in the letter were not shared with other law enforcement agencies at the time. The force confirmed it is currently examining how the matter was handled in 2019 to determine whether a self-referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is required to review its procedures.
The confirmation follows statements made on Friday by Meghan, who revealed she had been notified about "disturbing allegations" concerning her 82-year-old father in 2018 and was assured that the claims were being investigated. Responding to developments on Saturday that dated the letter to January 2019, a spokesperson for the duchess explained that "any discrepancy of a few months" was "an understandable consequence of that passage of time."
The claims were first published by The Sun newspaper, which reported that the 2019 letter made direct allegations of child sexual abuse against Markle. Reports emerged on Friday that alleged child sexual abuse images belonging to Markle had been discovered at his former residence in the Philippines. Markle's son, Thomas Markle Jnr, claimed he found a stash of abuse videos and pictures among his father's former items and reported the discovery to police, having also contacted the FBI in July. Markle, who is based in the United States, denies possessing any such images.
Authorities in the Philippines confirmed they are actively investigating the allegations surrounding Markle. Philippine Interior Minister Jonvic Remulla stated that national police have secured Markle's computer to conduct a digital forensic examination, while an anti-human trafficking and child sexual exploitation task force in the country is also investigating the case.
In her statement released on Friday, Meghan said that when she received information regarding the claims against her father, she was given assurances that they were being investigated. She expressed hope that people could understand why she had maintained her distance from her father and did not allow him to have contact with her children. Meghan is the only daughter of Markle and her mother, Doria Ragland.
Markle pulled out of attending Meghan and Prince Harry's wedding in 2018, citing ill health, after which the father and daughter became estranged. He moved to the Philippines last year following a series of strokes. After undergoing a leg amputation in 2025, Markle is currently residing at a rehabilitation centre in Florida where he is learning to walk again.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped down as working royals and relocated to the United States in 2020. They returned to the United Kingdom with their children this year after spending six years living abroad.
