Meghan Markle is no stranger to headlines, but the latest controversy surrounding her is particularly disturbing.
It concerns her father, Thomas Markle, whom her paternal half-brother, Tom, has accused of possessing “hundreds” of inappropriate images involving minors.
While Thomas has dismissed the claims as an act of revenge by his son after cutting him off financially, the Duchess of Sussex has revealed that she has been aware of the allegations since 2018.
“My thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed,” she said.
Meghan Markle has broken her silence on troubling allegations against her father
In a statement issued in the early hours of Friday, October 23, Markle said, “In 2018, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection.”
The letter was subsequently shared with her, she explained, giving her the first indication of the allegations Tom has now accused Thomas Markle of.
The Suits alum said she was assured at the time that the matter would be investigated.
Markle went on to say that the nature of the allegations against her father was why she had never allowed him to be around Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
“I hope it can now be understood that despite certain media publications’ distortions over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to contact our children was for one reason: to protect them.”
The Duchess added that she hoped the authorities were working to protect other families as well.
“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 priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children,” she concluded.
Thomas Markle denied having access to the devices on which the material was allegedly discovered
Jonathan Brady-Pool/Getty Images
Tom made the bombshell claims to The Sun, saying he found objectionable material stored on computers and a cellphone in large storage boxes his father had “left behind” after moving back to the United States from the Philippines earlier this year.
Thomas disputed his son’s account, claiming he had not had possession of the computers since January 2025, when he moved from Rosarito, Mexico, to the Philippines “for a fresh start.”
He said, “Those computers were boxed up in Mexico and put on a cargo ship, which took months to get to the Philippines. I kept asking Tom for my computers, but he wouldn’t give them to me.”
“I don’t know who had access to those computers. We moved to (two adjoining) houses in December 2025, and I was taken ill (with the blood clot), and I was in hospital and then a rehab center,” he explained.
Thomas ultimately asserted, “I have never downloaded anything like that in my life.”
Thomas Markle’s other daughter, Samantha, defended him and accused Tom of fabricating the allegations
Samantha spoke to the Daily Mail on Thursday, insisting that the allegations against her father had “no merit whatsoever.”
She went on to call her brother “disgusting” and accused him of spreading lies to “destroy” their father.
“Shame on him,” she said.
Samantha claimed Tom had first made these allegations a few weeks ago, after Thomas cut him off financially. She accused her brother of using their father as a “cash cow for years.”
She also suggested that he was making the claims to “make money from the media.”
Samantha reiterated her support for her father during an appearance on Dan Wootton Outspoken on Thursday, stating, “I see Dad every day.”
Meanwhile, Samantha’s partner, Mark Phillips, told Page Six that he also did not believe the allegations.
“It’s bullsh*t,” he declared, adding, “Tom Markle Jr. has done this several times before.”
Phillips also claimed that Tom had “run out of money in the Philippines” and hated his father, suggesting that this was why he had made the allegations.
Meghan Markle, notably, has been estranged from Thomas since her wedding to Prince Harry.
Thomas Markle upset his daughter by staging fake paparazzi photos of himself weeks before her big day
Richard Baker / In Pictures via Getty Images Images
In May 2018, the British newspaper The Mail on Sunday published surveillance footage that appeared to show Thomas Markle colluding with a photographer to stage seemingly candid moments.
The staged images depicted him reading articles about Meghan’s upcoming wedding, lifting weights to get in shape, and being measured for an outfit for the nuptials.
The paparazzi agency behind the shoot reportedly sold the photographs to media outlets worldwide for as much as $140,000.
Thomas later admitted to striking a deal with the photo agency.
The scandal triggered an intense public backlash, and Thomas suffered a heart attack.
Thomas eventually withdrew from attending the royal wedding, and King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, walked Meghan down the aisle.
“I feel so bad for her,” a netizen said about Meghan Markle
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