The Philippine interior minister confirmed on Oct 25 that Thomas Markle Sr, father of the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, is under investigation for alleged child pornography, as it emerged that a damning letter shared with his daughter was penned by his ex-wife.
Robin Loveless, who was married to Thomas Markle Sr until divorcing him in 1975, wrote and sent the letter to London’s Metropolitan Police, the department confirmed to BBC News on Oct 24, putting the year at 2019.
Initial accounts said the letter was sent in 2018. The police force later shared it with Markle and Prince Harry, the Met said. Loveless died in 2024.
“In these cases where family disputes are mixed up, we have to consider all the angles,” Philippine Interior Minister Jonvic Remulla told The Guardian on Oct 25. “Right now all signs point to a possible sex offender of the grossest kind. We want to be sure before we release the findings. The forensics data will be complete in a week.”
That’s how long it would take “determine the contents and to come up with a definitive picture,” after which authorities would release a statement, Remulla added.
Loveless had two children with Markle, Samantha Markle and Thomas Markle Jr, Meghan Markle’s older half-siblings, BBC News recounted. Markle Sr and Doria Raglund married in 1979 and had Meghan, their only child, in 1981. They divorced in 1987.
It was Thomas Markle Jr who discovered the stash of disturbing images and videos of girls no more than 10 or 11 years old when cleaning out his father’s residents in Cebu, Philippines, while he was in the hospital having his leg amputated earlier this year after a stroke, according to previous reports.
He notified an FBI hotline, the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children, and other law enforcement agencies.
On Oct 24 Remulla confirmed that the Philippine National Police had seized a laptop belonging to Markle Sr. and a “trove of child pornography materials,” People reported.
Meghan Markle said she was “deeply distressed” at the allegations and revealed it as the reason for her longstanding estrangement from her father.
Markle Sr vehemently denied the allegations.
“This is bulls—t,” he said from a Florida rehab centre where he’s recovering from the amputation. “It’s just a bunch of lies. It’s sick. I have no idea why Tom is trying to destroy me with these lies.” – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
