Meghan broke contact with father in letter citing abuse claims

Meghan Says She Ended Contact With Her Father After Disturbing Allegations Emerged

Ninoda.com – The Duchess of Sussex ended contact with her father in 2025 after writing to him about allegations involving the abuse of young girls, sources close to Meghan have said. Thomas Markle, 82, has denied every allegation made against him.

The letter is understood to have told Markle that he would not meet Meghan and Prince Harry’s children, Archie and Lilibet, and that she would have no further contact with him. It was sent while he was receiving hospital treatment in the Philippines following the amputation of his leg.

Meghan and her father had already been estranged for several years. Their relationship deteriorated in 2018, when Markle withdrew from attending her wedding to Prince Harry, citing poor health.

Claims under investigation

Philippine authorities have confirmed that their task force dealing with human trafficking and child sexual exploitation is examining the allegations concerning Markle. The investigation remains ongoing, and no finding of criminal wrongdoing has been announced.

Interior Minister Jonvic Remulla said the national police had secured a computer belonging to Thomas Markle and intended to conduct a digital forensic examination. The inquiry follows claims that material allegedly connected to child sexual abuse had been discovered among belongings at Markle’s former home in the Philippines.

Meghan’s half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, is said to have contacted police after claiming he found videos and images among his father’s possessions. He is also understood to have alerted the FBI in July. The FBI has confirmed that it is aware of the allegations.

Markle has acknowledged paying for sex during earlier visits to the Philippines in an interview, but he denied having sexual contact with underage girls. He also denied ever possessing images of child sexual abuse.

Meghan’s statement

Meghan later confirmed that she had sent a letter to her father and said it referred to allegations she found deeply troubling. She explained that her decision to keep him away from her children was connected to those concerns.

“I am deeply distressed. My thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed.”

She said she hoped the public would better understand why she had largely severed communication with her father and why he was not permitted to have a relationship with Archie and Lilibet.

The duchess is Thomas Markle’s only daughter with Doria Ragland. Her parents divorced when Meghan was young, and her father worked in television lighting before she became internationally known through acting and, later, her marriage into the Royal Family.

Earlier police contact

Questions have also been raised about information provided to police in the United Kingdom in 2019. The Metropolitan Police said it received a letter that year containing several claims linked to Meghan’s father.

The force said it shared that letter with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at the time. However, the contents were not passed to other law-enforcement bodies. The Metropolitan Police is now reviewing its response to the matter.

The review does not establish the truth of the underlying allegations. It concerns how the information was handled after it was received and whether further steps should have been considered.

For Meghan, the disclosure offers further context to a family rupture that has long drawn public attention. Her relationship with Thomas Markle became the subject of intense scrutiny around her 2018 wedding, particularly after he was linked to staged paparazzi photographs and then decided not to attend the ceremony.

Since then, public comments from both sides have periodically highlighted the distance between father and daughter. Meghan’s latest statement indicates that the separation was not simply the result of the earlier wedding dispute, but was also shaped by serious concerns raised in later years.

Health and current circumstances

Thomas Markle moved to the Philippines last year after suffering a series of strokes. He is now believed to be living at a rehabilitation centre in Florida, where he is learning to walk again after the leg amputation.

The allegations remain allegations, and Markle continues to reject them. Any criminal determination would depend on the outcome of the relevant investigations and any subsequent legal process.

The case has placed renewed focus on the limits families may set when safeguarding children amid unresolved allegations. Meghan’s public position is that her children’s protection was central to her decision to end contact permanently with her father.