Meghan’s half-brother says he found the material in boxes of his father’s belongings. His half-sister calls the allegations “disgusting” and says they have “no merit”. No charges have been reported.
Thomas Markle Snr, the father of the Duchess of Sussex, is reportedly the subject of a police investigation after his son, Thomas Markle Jr, told authorities he found child sexual abuse material among his belongings in the Philippines. The Sun first reported the allegations on Thursday evening. Filipino police have reportedly opened an inquiry and are preparing to seize evidence. Mr Markle Snr’s daughter, Samantha Markle, strongly denies the claims and says her father is being targeted. The allegations are unproven, and no independent finding has been reported.
What is alleged
According to The Sun, Mr Markle Jr, 60, told police he found “hundreds” of images in four large boxes at a property in Cebu. The paper reported that they included a video and a number of still photographs of children. He said he recognised a room from his father’s former home in Mexico in the background of one image. I have not described the material further.
Mr Markle Jr said he made the discovery over the summer, after his father, 82, returned to the US following a stroke and a blood clot that led to the amputation of his left leg. He said he was looking for a mobile phone for his Filipino girlfriend when he found the boxes. He reported his find on 10 July to the FBI Hotline, the US-based National Center for Exploited and Missing Children and state police in Pennsylvania, where his father lives.
The Sun reported that Philippine investigators from the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking have appointed a task force led by the Women and Children’s Protection Centre. It said Mr Markle Jr gave a sworn statement to specialist investigators in Cebu City on Thursday, and agreed to hand over the boxes for forensic examination. It also reported that the FBI acknowledged receiving his affidavit. Investigators declined to comment to the paper, and I could not find an independent statement from the Philippine National Police or the FBI confirming an active inquiry. Other outlets’ reports trace back to The Sun.
The Sun also reported that Mr Markle Jr had three hard drives examined with a local IT specialist, who identified further suspected illegal material. Law enforcement has not authenticated this. Mr Markle Jr told the paper: “I won’t speak to my father ever again unless I’m called to give evidence against him.”
The family’s response
Samantha Markle, 61, who is her father’s main caregiver, said the allegations are “disgusting” and have “no merit in them whatsoever”. She called her brother a “liar” and said he invented the story to make money after her father stopped sending him cash.
She disputed that the boxes were at her father’s house. “That is not factually true,” she said. “The computers were packed up in Mexico and put on a cargo ship. They were then in storage in the basement of a building in the Philippines. Dad had no access to them. The boxes were then in Tom Jr’s house. Dad had no access to those computers for two years.”
She added: “There is no proof my dad downloaded any images. Those computers were out of his possession for two years. That leaves a lot of room for tampering. These are unsubstantiated allegations. Anyone could have been in contact with those computers over a couple of years.”
She said her father has “severe physical and cognitive issues” and is “too frail and sick to defend himself”. “You can’t accuse someone of being an offender when the alleged tools of the crime have been in other people’s hands,” she said. “I believe my dad is innocent.”
She also made allegations about her brother’s motives and past conduct, including that he previously “made up a story” about their father. She said he had a “vendetta” and “needs money”. Mr Markle Jr has not been reported as responding to those claims, and they should be treated as her allegations.
Background
Mr Markle Snr, a Hollywood lighting director, had his left leg amputated below the knee last December and has suffered heart attacks and a stroke. Samantha Markle says he recently had another stent fitted. The pair moved from Mexico to the Philippines at the start of 2025, and he returned to the US earlier this year for a prosthetic leg and further treatment. He has been estranged from Meghan since the eve of her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry and has never met his grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet.
