Thomas Markle Sr. Investigated Over Allegations of Child Abuse Materials
Meghan Markle's father reportedly confessed to traveling to Southeast Asia due to the legal age of consent, according to a letter from his ex-wife.
Thomas Markle Sr., the father of Meghan Markle, is currently under investigation in the Philippines following the discovery of alleged child sex abuse materials in his home. The investigation comes amid a 2019 letter from his first wife, Roslyn Loveless, reportedly stating that he traveled to the Far East because "12-year-olds are legal there."
Loveless, who was married to Thomas Markle Sr. from 1965 to 1975, sent a seven-page letter to London’s Metropolitan Police in 2019. The letter, obtained by The Sun, detailed the claim that Thomas Sr. made about his travels to the Philippines and Thailand. At the time, the legal age of sexual consent in the Philippines was 12, though paying for sex with anyone under 18 remained illegal. In 2022, this age was raised to 16.
The Metropolitan Police did not have jurisdiction to investigate the allegations made against Thomas Sr. abroad but did share the letter with his daughter, Meghan, and her husband, Prince Harry.
More recently, Thomas Sr. has been investigated over "hundreds, if not thousands" of child sex abuse images allegedly found in his home in Cebu, Philippines. His son, Thomas Jr., reportedly discovered the materials and turned them over to local police.
Thomas Sr., 82, has denied these allegations, calling them "sick lies" to the Daily Mail. However, Philippine interior minister Jonvic Remulla told The Guardian on Sunday that "all signs point to a possible sex offender of the grossest kind" and that forensics data would be complete within a week.
Meghan Markle stated that she is "deeply distressed" by the investigation into her father. She confirmed she saw a 2018 letter concerning allegations against him and was assured they were being investigated. "I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families," she said in a statement to Page Six.
In a letter sent to her father last year, before the recent allegations surfaced, Meghan reportedly told him he would never meet her children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, to protect them. According to The Sun, the letter accused him of sexually abusing children and informed him that authorities were aware of his alleged actions. Meghan also stated in the letter that it would be the last time he would hear from her.
Loveless died in 2024. Her 2019 letter was sent to Scotland Yard’s Fixated Threat Assessment Centre, which handles risks to prominent public figures.