Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, said on Friday that she was appalled by allegations surrounding her estranged father, which she said helped explain why she has kept her children away from him.
A British tabloid newspaper reported on Thursday that Thomas Markle was under investigation over claims by his son that he kept child abuse imagery at their shared home in the Philippines. Thomas Markle Jr. told The Sun that he was “horrified” by material he had found and “had no option” but to report his father to the police.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Philippines Department of Justice said that it was investigating the claims.
In an interview published by the Daily Mail on Friday, Mr. Markle said the claims were untrue. “I’m very upset that my son is making these accusations against me. I could never do what I’m being accused of. It’s the worst thing anyone could accuse me of,” he told the paper.
Neither Thomas Markle nor Thomas Markle Jr. could be reached for further comment.
In a statement sent to The New York Times, Meghan said she first learned of allegations against her father in 2018, when a letter was sent to the unit of London’s Metropolitan Police that was at the time responsible for her security.
The letter, she said, “made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated.” She did not give details of the claims.
“I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours,” she added, an apparent reference to the tabloid reports. “My thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed.”
She said the reports helped explain why she cut ties with her father. “I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications’ distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children was for one reason: to protect them,” she said.
Meghan and her husband, Prince Harry, recently moved back to Britain with their children, Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5.
The couple’s relationship with Mr. Markle has been a subject of intense scrutiny since before their 2018 wedding, when palace officials announced days before the ceremony that Mr. Markle would not attend.
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