The centuries-long history of royal scandal has contained almost every imaginable controversy, yet this latest episode stands out for both its disturbing nature and its extraordinary circumstances.
Investigators yesterday described the father-in-law of the King’s son as a possible sex offender of the most serious kind.
The claim, made by the Philippines’ interior minister, followed the discovery of digital material allegedly depicting child sexual abuse at the former home of Thomas Markle, the estranged father of the Duchess of Sussex.
The disturbing allegations, which reportedly include an image purporting to show Markle with a girl believed to be underage, have reverberated thousands of miles away. Buckingham Palace has been forced to consider how to respond to what threatens to become another deeply damaging crisis for the monarchy.
At first glance, the deeply personal matter should have little bearing on the official duties of the Royal Family. King Charles and Queen Camilla are due this week to begin a sensitive Caribbean tour, including the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda.
That summit was already expected to be challenging, with the King facing calls for an apology and reparations linked to Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade. The revelations in South-East Asia have now introduced an additional complication.
Public sympathy has understandably turned towards Meghan, who has said she ended contact with her father a year ago. She reportedly told him she knew about allegations that he had abused young girls.
In a letter apparently sent to Markle while he was recovering in a Philippine hospital after having a leg amputated, Meghan is said to have told him that he would never meet his grandchildren, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five. She also indicated that she would not contact him again.
Since returning to Britain in August, Prince Harry and Meghan have continued to attract intense public attention. Could they eventually repair relations with William and Kate? (Seen together in 2018)
The reports about her father have prompted a strong wave of public support for Meghan, particularly among mothers. Her decision to speak about her distress over the Metropolitan Police’s alleged failure to act when abuse claims were first raised has intensified that sympathy.
For the monarchy, however, Meghan’s increased public goodwill brings both potential benefits and considerable risks.
Interest in Harry and Meghan has remained unusually high since their return to the UK in August, even though they have made relatively few public appearances. Their presence in Britain alone has generated speculation: why did they return, how long will they remain and might they eventually reconcile with William and Kate?
Those unanswered questions continue to fuel fascination. Even the couple’s limited, quasi-royal engagements have demonstrated how easily they can draw attention away from the official programme of the working royals.
As a result, the Royal Family is often judged against the public actions of two former working royals, whether its members welcome that comparison or not. During the couple’s years in California, the distance from Britain and the time difference made it easier to set aside many of their headline-making interventions. Their base in the Cotswolds has changed that dynamic.
For senior royals, the situation may now feel uncomfortably close to home.
The difficult question is how the King and the wider family should respond to an issue that is both profoundly troubling and intensely private.
If public opinion towards Meghan has softened, some will ask why the Royal Family should not reconsider its own position towards her and Harry.
Trust remains a central obstacle. Through their Oprah Winfrey interview, their heavily promoted Netflix series and Harry’s memoir, Spare, the couple have appeared to place little value on keeping family disputes private or maintaining traditional royal obligations. Personal grievances were aired, accusations exchanged and long-standing tensions exposed on an unprecedented scale.
After speaking with Royal Family allies this weekend, one concern was repeated: if relatives reconnect with Harry and Meghan, can they be confident that private conversations will stay private? Or could those discussions later become public, as happened after Meghan’s claim that Scotland Yard showed her a letter in 2019 containing allegations about her father’s alleged conduct?
Meghan reportedly told her father in a hospital letter, written after his leg was amputated, that he would never meet his grandchildren.
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On the other hand, the friends continued, if the royals do nothing at all, will that become a source of resentment and eventual public complaint? The cold Windsors’ failure to communicate with Meghan at a time of such deep personal anxiety could be weaponised by being leaked through Harry and Meghan’s favourite channels.
As a grandfather and a Christian, Charles, I am sure, will offer compassion and support to Meghan. Remember how, as Prince of Wales, he walked her up the aisle on her wedding day when her father pulled out of the ceremony, citing ill health. Knowing what we do now, perhaps Mr Markle’s absence from his daughter’s side at Windsor that day can be seen in a different light.
Harry is not thought to have seen his father since his return. A meeting now looks much more likely.
For Prince William, however, the stakes are higher. He, more than anyone, has little reason to offer a consoling hand. In his book, Harry presented his relationship with the brother he called his ‘arch nemesis’ as strained and difficult.
He even described a physical altercation the pair had, which ended up with William ripping Harry’s necklace and knocking him to the floor.
There’s no doubt that Harry and Meghan’s return to the UK has had a greater impact on William than anyone else in the Royal Family. During the ten weeks or so that his brother has been back in the UK, it has cast an, at times, uneasy spotlight on the Prince of Wales and how he engages with people.
Some figures close to the royals have openly wondered if William’s decision to appear on Graham Norton’s prime-time chat show on Friday night was somehow related to the fact his brother is now back in Britain.
Although he came across well, and his appearance was judged a great success by Press and public alike, it is also tempting to wonder if he would have considered opening up on Norton’s sofa had it not been for Harry’s enduring obsession with unburdening himself to the cameras. Was William, in short, upping his game because of his brother’s presence?
The two have not spoken for more than four years, since Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. If they are ever to reconcile, might not this be an unlikely but nevertheless worthwhile opportunity?
Some in William’s circle insist that nothing has changed. As disturbing as the claims swirling around Thomas Markle are, they do not turn the clock back. ‘The Prince of Wales remains deeply hurt by the betrayal of him and Catherine in the book,’ says one.
There are, however, many questions left still unanswered about this wretched affair. In her first intervention last week, Meghan said she had been shown the letter about her father’s alleged sex abuse of children – which was yesterday claimed to have been written by Markle’s first wife, Roslyn Loveless, who died in 2024 – by royal protection officers.
Some figures close to the royals have openly wondered if William’s decision to appear on Graham Norton’s chat show was somehow related to the fact his brother is now back in Britain
At the time in 2019, the Sussexes’ police bodyguards were part of the team that also protected Charles – then Prince of Wales – and Camilla, as well as William and Harry.
It would not be unusual for other members of the squad to have knowledge of such a letter and, if so, might it also have been passed to Charles?
Why nothing appears to have been done to investigate Ms Loveless’s allegations, despite Meghan claiming she had been assured at the time that they would be investigated, remains one of the mysteries of the saga and – rightly – the subject of a new and crucial Scotland Yard inquiry.
The coming days will tell if sympathy alone is enough to force the royals into rethinking their relationship with Harry and Meghan. In some quarters, the duchess’s decision to address the claims about her father directly have seen her favourably dubbed a ‘tiger mom’, fearlessly defending her children in the face of unspeakable allegations of depravity.
Might such comparisons shift the dial when it comes to public attitudes towards her?
Not so long ago, Harry and Meghan were seen not as agents of change but of destruction, whose behaviour could wreck Britain’s affection for the monarchy.
It would be too far fetched to suggest that they could now be its saviours, but wouldn’t it be something if, out of this dark episode, something tangibly good emerged: a family reconciliation?
