Meghan Knew About Father's Allegations in 2018

The Metropolitan Police in London has confirmed that it holds a 2019 letter detailing specific claims regarding Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. A Scotland Yard spokesperson verified the document's existence to CBS News on Saturday, marking the first official acknowledgment of the file's presence in their records.

According to the police, the letter was forwarded to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their awareness. However, the specific allegations contained within the document were not disclosed to other law enforcement bodies at the time. The Metropolitan Police will now review how the matter was processed in 2019 and determine if a referral to the independent police watchdog is necessary.

The confirmation arrives amid a surge of international media attention. The Sun reported on Thursday that Markle's son, Thomas Markle Jr., reported his father to authorities in the Philippines. The younger man alleged that he discovered child abuse materials in storage units at the family residence in the country. By Friday, reports indicated that Philippine officials were actively dealing with the case regarding alleged possession of child sexual abuse materials, though Markle denied the accusations in statements reported by The Daily Mail.

Meghan Markle responded to the developing narrative in a statement sent to CBS News on Friday. She described herself as deeply distressed by the coverage and stated that she had known of the allegations since 2018. Her statement claimed that a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and the Royalty and Specialist Protection unit in 2018, which was subsequently shared with her. She noted that she was given assurances the matter was under investigation.

The duchess also addressed the public speculation regarding her son's lack of contact with their grandfather. She said she kept her distance from her father to protect her children. She argued that her decision to limit contact had one primary reason: to ensure their safety. She noted that media distortions over the years had obscured this motive.

A key discrepancy exists between the two accounts regarding the timeline. Meghan's statement cites 2018 as the year the letter was sent, while the Metropolitan Police confirm the receipt date as 2019. A spokesman for the duchess told BBC News that any difference of a few months was an understandable consequence of the passage of time. The review of the police handling will now test whether the internal records align with the family's long-standing account of when the complaint was first logged.