Updated

Updated · bbc.co.uk · Oct 25

Meghan Cuts Off Father, 82, Over Child Abuse Claims as Philippines Police Seize Computer

Updated

Updated · bbc.co.uk · Oct 25

Meghan Cuts Off Father, 82, Over Child Abuse Claims as Philippines Police Seize Computer

Q: What chilling discovery by Meghan's half-brother triggered an international investigation into her father's secret life abroad?

The reported trigger was Thomas Markle Jr.’s alleged discovery of child sexual abuse material among his father’s belongings in the Philippines. According to the reporting cited, Meghan’s half-brother said he found disturbing images and videos on old phones, computers, hard drives and in boxes stored at Thomas Markle Sr.’s former home in Cebu. Some accounts described “hundreds, if not thousands” of files, including abuse images involving very young children. That alleged discovery prompted him to file a sworn statement with Philippine authorities and reportedly alert the FBI as well. Philippine officials have since said their anti-human trafficking and child sexual exploitation task force is investigating, and police have secured a computer for forensic analysis. Thomas Markle Sr. has denied possessing child abuse material or abusing minors, calling the allegations false. But the claims, and the evidence reportedly found by his son, are what triggered the cross-border investigation into his life in the Philippines.

3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Oct 25

A 2025 letter from Meghan to Thomas Markle said she would never contact him again and that he would never meet Archie and Lilibet because of abuse allegations.
Philippine officials said their anti-human trafficking and child sexual exploitation task force is investigating, and Interior Minister Jonvic Remulla said police had secured Markle's computer for digital forensics.
The Metropolitan Police said it received a 2019 letter containing claims about Markle and shared it with Meghan and Prince Harry at the time, but did not pass it to other agencies and is now reviewing that handling.
Markle, 82, denies abusing underage girls or possessing child abuse images, though he told the Mail on Sunday he had paid for sex in the Philippines.
The case deepens a rupture that began in 2018, while the FBI has also confirmed it is aware of the allegations after Meghan's half-brother reportedly contacted the agency in July.