A report alleging child abuse by the estranged father of the Duchess of Sussex was sent to the Metropolitan Police by his former wife, according to reports.
Roslyn Loveless, who was married to Thomas Markle between 1964 and 1975, is said to have written to police in 2019 outlining allegations against him, the New York Post reported.
However, Mr Markle, speaking to The Mail on Sunday, said he did not accept that his first wife—who died in 2024—had written the letter. He described the claim as “a set-up”.
Asked about the report, Mr Markle said he was shocked and remained unconvinced. “Roslyn and I separated many years ago, but I treated her fairly during our divorce,” he said.
“I find it very difficult to believe she would have written a letter like that. She struggled with alcoholism for a long time. It is deeply sad, but I do not believe she would have produced something like this without somebody influencing her or putting ideas to her.”
He added: “I would like to see the letter Roslyn supposedly wrote. We were on good terms. She is no longer here to explain her side, so why is this coming out now? Why is my son trying to destroy me? Why is Meghan attacking me?”
Mr Markle acknowledged that Loveless had previously cooperated with what he called a “really negative” story about him, but said he could not believe she would accuse him of being a paedophile.
“My first wife and I maintained an acceptable relationship for many years because of our children,” he said. “I do not believe she would have deliberately said terrible things about me. She cannot defend herself now. I suspect this may have been arranged to discredit me after my death, but I am still alive and I am calling it nonsense.”
Roslyn Loveless, the first wife of Meghan Markle’s estranged father Thomas, reportedly wrote the letter that alerted police to allegations against him in 2019
Mr Markle denies child sex allegations and told The Mail on Sunday he did not believe his former wife, who died in 2024, had sent the letter
The 82-year-old also told the newspaper that he had paid for sex while in the Philippines, but denied having sex with underage girls.
He said he would “do whatever it takes” to clear his name after being accused of serious child sex offences.
Authorities in the Philippines are investigating claims that the former Hollywood lighting technician stored child sexual abuse images.
The development has also raised questions about why the Metropolitan Police allegedly held on to the letter concerning the claims for more than seven years.
Meghan previously said she learned about the allegations in 2018 after Met detectives gave her the letter. The force has since stated that she was actually informed a year later.
The Duchess of Sussex said she had been assured that the allegations were being investigated.
MORE STORY: Pastor Adam Hamilton’s Megachurch Pushes Gender-Neutral Terms
She described the allegations involving her father as “more sickening than one could ever imagine” and said her thoughts were with any children who might have been harmed.
Mr Markle has repeatedly denied the allegations since The Sun reported that he was under investigation in the Philippines.
Child sexual abuse images reportedly linked to Mr Markle were handed to police last week by his son, Thomas Markle Jr.
His son said he discovered the images on computers that his father had left in the Philippines before returning to the United States earlier this year.
Mr Markle Jr told The Sun: ‘When I found this material, I was horrified and I had no option but to report my dad. I have supported, cared for him and helped him for years, but that stops now. I won’t speak to my father ever again unless I’m called to give evidence against him.’
Mr Markle, pictured with nurse Rio Canedo, is the subject of a child sex investigation after being reported to police by his son
Thomas Markle Jr, Meghan’s half-brother, claimed to have found the child abuse material packed up in boxes at his father’s Philippines home
Speaking to Our News Outlet on Friday Mr Markle called the allegations against him ‘sick lies’ and said he was ‘very upset that my son is making these allegations against me’.
Meghan’s half-sister Samantha, who is Mr Markle’s main caregiver, also defended their father and accused her brother of fabricating the allegations for financial gain.
She told the Mail this week: ‘There is no merit in these disgusting allegations whatsoever and my brother is disgusting for making them up. He wants to destroy our dad. Shame on him.’
Mr Markle and Ms Loveless shared Samantha, 61, and Thomas Jr, 60, before he fathered the now-duchess with Doria Ragland in 1981.
He was married to Meghan’s mother from 1979 to 1987, with the couple separating when their daughter was around two years old.
Days after Prince Archie’s birth in May 2019, Ms Loveless described her ex-husband as an ‘awful father’ who should never be allowed to meet his grandson.
She said Meghan ‘would be a fool to have him in her life’ and added: ‘Repeatedly he has shown to Meghan he cannot be trusted. She must know that now. I speak not out of bitterness, my life moved on many years ago, but out of concern.
‘Archie deserves to be brought up in a happy home, not in this vengeful situation that has been created. Tom was an awful father. What makes him think he’d be a great grandfather to Archie?’
At the time Mr Markle dismissed his ex-wife’s comments as ‘not valid’.
