Prince Harry’s wife, Meghan, said she was “deeply distressed” by allegations that a collection of child sexual abuse images had been found at her father’s former home.
She also revealed that a letter containing “troubling allegations” about him had been sent to London police in 2018.
Meghan, also known as the Duchess of Sussex, issued the statement after The Sun, a British tabloid newspaper, reported that her brother found the images while clearing out the home of their father, Thomas Markle Sr, in the Philippines.
“I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours, and my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed,’’ Meghan said in a statement.
She also addressed the letter sent to the Metropolitan Police Service’s Royal and Specialist Protection unit, which later shared its contents with her.
“It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father, and I was given assurances that these were being investigated. 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.”
Meghan, an American citizen who starred in the US television drama Suits, married Harry at Windsor Castle in 2018. They have two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
Thomas Markle Sr, a retired television lighting and photography director, did not attend the wedding, prompting extensive coverage in the British media of Meghan’s estrangement from her father. While some reports suggested she had shunned him in favour of her new royal status, Meghan said her decision to distance herself was intended to protect her children.
“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 said in her statement.
Thomas Markle Sr was living in the Philippines earlier this year when he suffered a stroke and had his left leg amputated. That forced him to return to the US.
The Sun reported that Thomas Markle Jr. recently found “hundreds, if not thousands” of child sex abuse images in boxes at his father’s former home in the Philippine city of Cebu when he was clearing out the property.
Markle Jr. told the newspaper that he reported the images to police in the Philippines and contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the US.
“I have supported, cared for him and helped him for years — but that stops now,” Markle Jr. told The Sun. “I won’t speak to my father ever again unless I’m called to give evidence against him.”
In comments to the Daily Mail, the 82-year-old Markle denied the allegations.
“I’m shocked, I’m hurt, and I’m very upset that my son is making these accusations against me,'' he was quoted by the Daily Mail as saying. "I could never do what I’m being accused of. It’s the worst thing anyone could accuse me of.”
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