The allegations have taken a deeply disturbing turn.
Last week, shock and disbelief followed reports that Thomas Markle Jr had discovered what he described as a cache of child sexual abuse material at his father’s home in the Philippines. The discovery of another alleged cache has since intensified the concern and revulsion surrounding the case.
The first report prompted Samantha Markle, Meghan’s half-sister, to accuse her brother of planting the material.
‘There is no merit in these disgusting allegations whatsoever and my brother is disgusting for making them up,’ she told Our News Outlet. ‘He wants to destroy our dad. Shame on him.’
Thomas Markle Sr also rejected the claims, describing them as ‘sick lies.’
However, Our News Outlet says it found a second cache in a storage unit in Mexico rented by Markle Sr, a discovery that raises further serious questions. The FBI has been notified.
The reported contents include:
– A black-and-white photograph showing Markle Sr sitting on a bed with his arm around a female who appears conspicuously young. Both are clothed, and Markle Sr is holding a lit cigarette while looking directly at the camera. The image raises questions about who else may have been present in the room.
– Several photographs of the same female, appearing naked and posing alone in sexually suggestive positions in the same room.
Our News Outlet alerted the FBI after uncovering a stash of sexually explicit books, magazines and photos – including of Asian females who look conspicuously young – in a Mexican storage unit rented by Thomas Markle
– An image from Pretty Baby, the 1978 film featuring Brooke Shields at age 11 as a child raised in a brothel and groomed for prostitution. The film was based on a true story.
– More than 50 videotapes, including titles such as ‘Boys — Brother and Sister — Russian XX’ and ‘Manila Nites’.
– A selection of books and magazines, including The Invisible Children: Child Prostitution in America, West Germany and Great Britain.
Investigations are now reportedly taking place in the United States, Mexico, the Philippines and the UK. In Britain, London’s Metropolitan Police have referred themselves to a government watchdog over their handling of a 2019 letter from Thomas Markle Sr’s late former wife, Roslyn Loveless, which allegedly claimed that he had a sexual interest in children.
Loveless, who struggled with alcoholism, divorced Thomas Markle in 1975 and died in 2024.
A day after reports emerged about the alleged discovery in the Philippines, Meghan issued a statement saying that the Metropolitan Police had shared Loveless’s letter with her and Harry in 2019.
‘I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours,’ Meghan said, ‘and my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed.’
Among the photos in the unit is an undated image of Markle on a bed and with his arm wrapped around a young Asian female, both fully clothed. She appears, alone and naked, in several other pictures as well
On Thursday, the Metropolitan Police acknowledged that it had decided not to notify other law-enforcement agencies about the letter.
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The force reportedly could not locate the original correspondence and asked the Duchess of Sussex whether she had retained a copy. She later provided one.
The circumstances now raise a series of pressing questions.
It is difficult to understand why the letter would reportedly have been shared with the Sussexes’ office but not with more senior members of the Royal Family or other relevant authorities.
There are also questions about how the letter went missing and whether that loss was accidental.
Allegations involving possible child abuse should ordinarily be treated with urgency. The handling of this matter will therefore face close scrutiny.
The central question remains: who knew what, and when?
Markle Sr is currently in a Florida rehabilitation facility, where he has been receiving physical therapy since having his left leg amputated in the Philippines last year.
He did not respond to requests for comment on the latest allegations.
Samantha Markle also did not respond, although her boyfriend, Mark Phillips, spoke to the Mail outside their Florida home.
His comments are unlikely to ease the scrutiny facing Markle Sr.
‘The only statement you’re going to get is that Thomas Markle [Sr] doesn’t even have fingerprints on the stuff in the Philippines,’ he said.
‘He didn’t ever even touch it the whole time it was there. He can’t be charged. [Thomas] Markle never had it in Mexico, either.’
‘The FBI has no jurisdiction in Mexico,’ Phillips added. ‘Thomas Markle hasn’t lived in the States in 10 years. Even if there was bad [material], the statute of limitations ran out five years ago. This is all bulls**t.’
For the British Royal Family, the episode represents an exceptionally serious reputational challenge, comparable in scale to the fallout from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s links to the Epstein scandal. The Palace has so far remained silent.
King Charles is currently undertaking a nine-day royal tour of the Caribbean.
Buckingham Palace is likely to face questions about what it knew and when.
Did officials carry out sufficient due diligence when Meghan was preparing to marry into the family at such a senior level?
And who would ultimately be accountable if the allegations were not properly investigated?
The Royal Family may argue that the matter is separate from them — ‘This is a matter for the Sussex household,’ a royal source told the Mail last week — but as further details emerge, that position appears increasingly difficult to sustain.
