Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, said on Friday she was “deeply saddened” by reports that her estranged father Thomas Markle was in possession of child sex abuse images, adding that police informed her of “disturbing allegations” against him in 2018.
In her statement on Friday, Meghan addressed reports that her father is under investigation for allegedly keeping child sex abuse images at his home in the Philippines.
The accusations were first reported by British tabloid The Sun, which reported that Markle’s son notified police after discovering a pile of photos. The Sun published a photo purportedly showing Markle’s son Thomas Jr. signing a sworn statement it said had been submitted to police, quoting Markle Jr. as saying: “I will never speak to my father again unless I am called to testify.”
Thomas Markle Sr. denied the reported accusations in a statement to the Daily Mail, calling them “pathological lies.” He added that it was “the worst thing anyone could accuse me of.”
NBC News could not immediately identify a contact for the 82-year-old Markle, who is recovering from surgery at a rehabilitation center in Florida, according to the Daily Mail. Police in Cebu City, home of the elder Markle in the Philippines, and London’s Metropolitan Police did not immediately respond to NBC News’ requests for comment.
Meghan’s relationship with her father, who did not attend Meghan’s 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, has long been limited and fraught. Thomas Markle Sr. married Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, in 1979 before they divorced in 1987.
In a rare statement on Friday, Meghan said she chose to keep her children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, away from their father “for one reason: to protect them.”
“I am deeply saddened by the news that has come to light over the past 24 hours, and my heart goes out to all the children who may have been harmed,” she said in a statement.
Meghan said she had been informed of a letter received by British police and other authorities in 2018 that “made disturbing and disturbing allegations against my father, and I have been assured that these allegations are being investigated.”
“I hope it is now understood that despite the distortion of facts by certain media publications over the years, any distance I had from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children was for one reason only: to protect them,” she said.
Meghan added: “While what has now been revealed is more disgusting than people could have imagined, my sincerest hope is that justice is fully served and the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children.”
When Meghan was asked by NBC News about the letter to the Metropolitan Police, a spokesperson for the couple said it was after she married Prince Harry in the summer of 2018.
Meghan, 45, and Harry, 42, moved back to the UK earlier this summer after spending several years in the US.
Last week, the couple made their first public appearance together, visiting a charity in central England. King Charles III made it clear that their return did not mean a return to active royal life. However, Prince Harry recently said he wanted his differences with his family to be “resolved.”
Jean-Nicolas Fewt and Andrew Jones also contributed.