Duchess of Sussex Addresses "Sickening" Allegations Against Estranged Father

The Duchess of Sussex has issued a statement expressing she is "deeply distressed" following reports that her estranged father, Thomas Markle, is under investigation regarding allegations that child sexual abuse images were found at his former residence in the Philippines.

The claims originated from Meghan's half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr., who reported to The Sun newspaper that he discovered a collection of explicit material while searching through his father's belongings in Cebu.

Thomas Markle Sr. has vehemently denied the accusations in an interview with the Daily Mail, characterizing them as "sick lies" and stating, "I'm shocked, I'm hurt and I'm very upset that my son is making these accusations against me. I could never do what I'm being accused of. It's the worst thing anyone could accuse me of." He added: “This is bulls****. It's just a bunch of lies. It's sick. I have no idea why Tom is trying to destroy me with these lies.”

In response to the news, the Duchess released a statement detailing how police previously made her aware of concerns regarding her father in 2018:

“I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours, and my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed.”

“In 2018, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection. That letter was subsequently shared with me. It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated.”

“I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications’ distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children, was for one reason: to protect them. I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families.”

“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 the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children.”

The Duchess has been estranged from her father since the weeks preceding her wedding to Prince Harry in May 2018, after it was revealed he had staged and sold photographs to paparazzi agencies. Since then, she has maintained distance between him and her family, preventing him from meeting her two children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five.

In December of last year, the Duchess reached out to her father via letter following his left leg amputation, after he expressed publicly that he did not wish to die while alienated from his daughter. However, the latest allegations and ensuing investigations mark a further deepening of the family rift.