Metropolitan Police to Audit 2019 Handling of Thomas Markle Complaint

The Metropolitan Police in London confirmed on Saturday that it received a letter in 2019 containing multiple claims against Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. A spokesperson for Scotland Yard provided the details to CBS News. The force stated that the letter was forwarded to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their awareness, though the specific allegations were not shared with other law enforcement agencies.

The police confirmation followed reports published over the weekend. The Sun reported on Thursday that Thomas Markle Jr., the father's son, had reported his parent to authorities in the Philippines. The younger Markle alleged that he found child abuse materials in storage boxes at the family home. On Friday, reports indicated that Philippine authorities were dealing with the senior Markle over alleged possession of child sexual abuse materials. The Daily Mail reported that Thomas Markle denied the allegations on the same day.

Meghan Markle addressed the situation in a statement sent to CBS News on Friday. She described herself as deeply distressed by the reports. The Duchess stated that she had known of the allegations since 2018. She explained that the claims were shared with U.K. authorities at that time. In her statement, she noted that a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection in 2018. That letter was subsequently shared with her. It made troubling and disturbing allegations against her father. She said she was given assurances that the matter was being investigated.

Meghan also explained her decision to limit contact between her father and her children. She stated that this choice was made to protect them. She said she hoped it could now be understood that, despite certain media publications' distortion over the years, her decision not to allow him contact with the children had one reason: to protect them.

The two accounts differ on the date of the letter, with Meghan referring to 2018 and Scotland Yard citing 2019. A spokesman for the Duchess addressed this difference in comments to BBC News, a CBS News partner. The spokesman said any discrepancy of a few months was an understandable consequence of that passage of time.

The Metropolitan Police said it will review how the matter was handled in 2019. As part of that process, the force will decide whether to refer itself to the police watchdog.