U.K. police confirm it received letter with claims against Meghan's father
On Friday, it was reported that Meghan's father, Thomas Markle, is under investigation by authorities in the Philippines for alleged possession of child sexual abuse materials.
Key points
- Scotland Yard confirmed it received a letter in 2019 containing claims against Thomas Markle and passed it to the Duke and Duchess's office for their awareness.
- Thomas Markle is under investigation in the Philippines over alleged possession of child sexual abuse materials, which he has denied.
- Meghan said she has known of the allegations since 2018 and kept her father from her children to protect them.
The Metropolitan Police received a letter making a "number of claims" against Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, a Scotland Yard spokesperson confirmed to CBS News on Saturday. Police said the letter was passed to the Duke and Duchess's office "for their awareness," but the details of the allegations were not shared with other law enforcement agencies.
The confirmation follows reports that Thomas Markle is under investigation by authorities in the Philippines over alleged possession of child sexual abuse materials. The Sun reported Thursday that his son, Thomas Markle Jr., reported him to Philippine authorities after allegedly finding the materials in storage boxes at his father's home. The Daily Mail reported Friday that Markle denied the allegations.
Meghan's statement on the reports
Meghan, who recently moved back to Britain with Prince Harry and their children, said in a statement to CBS News on Friday that she was "deeply distressed" by the reports. She said she had known of the allegations against her father since 2018 and that they were shared with U.K. authorities at the time.
She said she had kept her distance from her father to protect her children, stating that not allowing him contact with them was "for one reason: to protect them."
deeply distressed
— Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex
Dispute over the letter's date
After Saturday's confirmation dated the letter to 2019, a spokesman for the duchess told CBS News partner BBC News that "any discrepancy of a few months" was "an understandable consequence of that passage of time." Scotland Yard said the Met Police will review how the matter was handled in 2019 and decide whether to refer itself to the police watchdog.
