Britain’s Metropolitan Police said it received a 2019 letter with claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom and did not share the allegations with other law enforcement agencies.
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British police said the Metropolitan Police Service received a letter in January 2019 containing “a number of claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom.”
The force said officers shared the letter with Harry and Meghan’s office, but did not share the allegations with other law enforcement agencies. It said it is now reviewing how it handled the matter and considering whether the force should be referred to the police watchdog.
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex and wife of Prince Harry, said Friday she was “deeply distressed” after allegations that a collection of child sexual abuse images had been found at a former home of her father, Thomas Markle Sr. She issued a statement after a British tabloid reported that her brother found the images while clearing out their father’s home in the Philippines.
In that statement, Meghan said, “Although the breadth of what has now been uncovered is more sickening than one could ever imagine, my sincerest hope is that justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children.”
Meghan also referenced a letter containing “troubling and disturbing allegations” that was sent to the Metropolitan Police Service’s Royal and Specialist Protection unit, which later shared its contents with her. The Metropolitan Police said it received the letter and later shared it with the couple’s office.
Thomas Markle Sr. is described in the evidence as a retired television lighting and photography director. He did not attend Meghan and Harry’s 2018 wedding at Windsor Castle, a separation that drew extensive media coverage. The evidence says Markle Sr. was living in the Philippines earlier this year when he suffered a stroke and had his left leg amputated, forcing him to return to the United States.
The evidence also says Markle Sr. denied the allegations in comments to a British newspaper. It further states that the director of the National Bureau of Investigation in the Philippines, Melvin Matibag, said the FBI sought its assistance related to allegations raised by Markle Jr., and that the Philippines’ interior secretary said national police were also investigating the allegations without elaborating.
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