The Sussexes’ return to Britain has been overshadowed by deeply troubling headlines.
Meghan Markle arrived to reports that her father, Thomas Markle, is being investigated over alleged ‘sickening child sex abuse images’.
Her half-brother, Thomas Markle Jnr, has claimed that he found the material at their father’s home in the Philippines and handed it to police.
Does this change the way we should view Meghan’s decision to distance herself from her father?
Could the man she once described as a devoted father, who raised her after her mother left, have been hiding a deeply troubling side?
And might this help explain why Meghan cut contact with him and refused to let him meet her children? While she was criticised as a cold and uncaring daughter, could she have been protecting Archie and Lilibet from allegations she found profoundly disturbing? The claims remain unproven, and Thomas Markle has not been convicted of any offence.
In a statement yesterday, Meghan appeared to refer to the concerns behind her decision. She said: ‘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.’ She said this was why she had not allowed Markle contact with Archie and Lilibet, adding that the decision was made ‘to protect them’.
‘I have been among their harshest critics and yes, I have accused them – perhaps wrongly with the benefit of hindsight – of abandoning Meghan’s father,’ writes Amanda Platell
Meghan as a youngster, with her father Thomas Markle, who is now being investigated over alleged ‘sickening child sex abuse images’
This extraordinary development raises far more questions than answers. Thomas Markle is reportedly under investigation in the Philippines, while the FBI is considering whether to take action. He has also protested his innocence.
It is a grim and deeply complicated situation, arriving at an especially difficult moment for the Sussexes as they seek to re-establish themselves in Britain.
I have counted myself among their fiercest critics and have accused them – perhaps unfairly in light of these revelations – of abandoning Meghan’s father.
For now, I feel sympathy for them. Yet amid this latest family crisis, it would be unwise to dismiss the possibility of another Netflix series.
Call me a traitor, but was Thursday’s episode of The Celebrity Traitors, in which the outcome of the murder in plain sight was finally revealed after contestants sat around for ages until someone yawned, a complete, er, yawn fest? I couldn’t say. I fell asleep.
It’s Sydney scary!
Sydney Sweeney wears a more modest outfit than in her recent lingerie photographs at the Christy premiere in October last year
With Halloween approaching, Sydney Sweeney has been promoting her lingerie line in gothic bondage-inspired attire modelled on the ‘corpse bride’ from Tim Burton’s 2005 film. The outfit was too eye-catching to reproduce here, but it did inspire me to buy the kit. Nothing would deter children ringing my doorbell for treats more effectively than seeing someone like me answer in it. Talk about a lifelong trauma.
Taylor Swift performs on stage during the Academy Museum’s sixth annual gala in California
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Taylor Swift was captivating alongside fellow billionaire Kim Kardashian at the Academy Museum Gala, which raised money for charitable causes. The event was co-chaired by Steven Spielberg, whose fortune is estimated at more than $7 billion. So why did the gala raise only $14 million? Set against their combined wealth, the sum seems remarkably small.
As E.T. might have put it, perhaps it is time for them to discover the true meaning of ‘be good’.
Lewis a no show for Kim
Lewis Hamilton was absent from Kim Kardashian’s 46th birthday celebration in Beverly Hills. He was preparing for Sunday’s US Grand Prix, but given the scale of the lavish party, his absence inevitably prompts questions about whether the relationship is genuine or whether both are benefiting from the extra publicity and commercial opportunities.
As HMRC writes off £13billion in lost taxes after businesses collapsed under Labour, Andy Burnham appears on Gogglebox, has a flu jab (showing off his bee tattoo signalling solidarity with the Manchester Arena bomb victims), invites veterans to No10 North to make a contribution to the Poppy Appeal and goes jogging in shorty shorts. Jolly good, but is Eyelashes Andy becoming nothing more than a photo opp?
No worries chez Platell after the Government told us to stock up on essentials such as tinned baked beans, in the event of a national emergency. My attic is still stacked with supplies from the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Sweet snap or have we been ad?
The picture of Harper kissing her father entitled ‘Road trip with Daddy’, shared on Instagram
Weary as we may be after being presented with yet another ‘private’ Beckham Instagram photograph, the picture of Harper kissing her father entitled ‘Road trip with Daddy’ will strike a chord with many, given how precious is the relationship between a father and his daughter.
Yet, call me a cynic but I can’t help feeling this is also an advertisement for Brand Beckham.
UK riots? Not likely
Many fear the rioting in Paris will be replicated in Blighty. Not a chance.
Brits prefer to queue as has been calmly demonstrated by the thousands who have stood in the rain to see the Bayeux Tapestry.
Instead of riots, we have a few pro-Palestinian agitators putting a poster of a bomb strapped to a loaf outside a London Gail’s bakery in protest at the group’s links with Israel. Customers looked on bemused, chomping on their incomparable almond croissants.
Shocking footage ahead of the next series of BBC hit series Gone Fishing, with Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse, as Paul is attacked by a thug at an ATM while trying to get cash for his wife’s medication. Had the show’s trusty terrier Ted been at his side, Paul’s attacker would have lost his ankles. Sadly Ted turned up his toes in series nine.
Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse’s trusty terrier, Ted, who died earlier this year
The law is to be changed so Valdo Calocane – who killed Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, and Ian Coates, 65, in Nottingham – will be stripped of his benefits in psychiatric hospital, including his Universal Credit payment worth up to £800 a month. Yet Barnaby’s distraught mum fears that because he’s a patient rather than a criminal, he could be out as early as next year. Restoration of the death penalty anyone?
Ex-model Jerry Hall is hailed a feminist ‘icon’, leading to a fierce argument in my Traitors superfan club. I defended her as a strong, independent woman – only to be reminded she pocketed millions of pounds after her brief marriage to billionaire Rupert Murdoch.
A chap who stole a flamingo from a Las Vegas hotel zoo after a 40-beer binge has been found guilty of animal cruelty. If nothing else Mitchell Fairbarn, 34, should offer his liver for medical research.
Writer Jack Barth claims he had the original idea for the movie Yesterday, about a world where only one person remembers The Beatles, and film-maker Richard Curtis and his wife Emma – who plan to stage it as a musical – haven’t given him enough credit. Curtis has previously said he wrote the film from scratch. Maybe Jack should let it be…
