Metropolitan Police to Review 2019 Handling of Markle Complaint
London police confirmed receipt of a letter detailing claims about the Duchess of Sussex's father, prompting a formal review of their initial response.
By Thiago Kovalenko ·
London's Metropolitan Police confirmed on Saturday that it received a formal letter in 2019 containing multiple claims regarding Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. The confirmation follows a week of intense media scrutiny regarding the patriarch's legal status in the Philippines.
Police stated the 2019 correspondence was forwarded to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their awareness. Officials noted that the specific details of the allegations were not shared with other law enforcement agencies at the time of receipt.
The disclosure arrives after The Sun reported on Thursday that Markle was reported to authorities in the Philippines by his son, Thomas Markle Jr. The younger Markle allegedly discovered child abuse materials in storage boxes at the family home. By Friday, reports indicated that Philippine authorities were handling the case involving alleged possession of child sexual abuse materials, while The Daily Mail noted that Markle denied the claims.
Meghan addressed the situation in a statement sent to CBS News on Friday, describing herself as "deeply distressed" by the coverage. She claimed she had known of the allegations since 2018 and that they were shared with U.K. authorities then. "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," her statement read.
The duchess also explained her decision to limit contact between her father and her children, citing the need to protect them. She said she hoped the public could understand that her choice was driven by one reason: to protect them, despite what she called media distortion over the years.
A date discrepancy exists between the two accounts, with Meghan citing 2018 and police confirming 2019. A spokesman for the duchess told BBC News that any discrepancy of a few months was an understandable consequence of the passage of time. Scotland Yard announced that the Met will now review how the matter was handled in 2019 and will decide whether to refer the case to the police watchdog.
