Meghan ‘deeply distressed’ by abuse image claims against father Thomas; letter sent to Met 2018

Meghan Markle Responds to Allegations Against Father Thomas

Meghan​‍​‌‍​‍‌ Markle is taking a stand after the recent allegations regarding a piece of child pornography that has been supposedly found in Thomas, her father’s, possession.

Thomas Sr., aged 82, has been accused of having child pornography materials, according to his son Thomas Markle Jr., the half-brother of the Duchess of Sussex, which appeared in The Sun on Thursday, Oct. 22. Thomas Jr. claims to have found the materials at his father’s home in Cebu, Philippines; he then reported it to the local authorities and the FBI, as described in the article.

At 45, Meghan Markle has publicly expressed her feelings about these accusations in a comment to PEOPLE. “I am completely shattered as a result of the revelations that have happened over the last day. I also empathise strongly with any child who could have been hurt,” was her ​‍​‌‍​‍‌statement.

Meghan Markle Says She Cut Off Thomas to Protect Children Amid Abuse Image Claims

Meghan Markle​‍​‌‍​‍‌ commented in a statement, “I am terribly upset by what has become public knowledge in the past 24 hours, and I think of the children who were hurt.”

A letter from 2018 was sent to the police and to Royalty and Specialist Protection as well. I only found out about this letter when it was given to me. In the letter, some very scary and uncomfortable things were said about my daddy, and I was told that the authorities were checking into those stories.

I hope now you can see that, apart from any exaggerations by certain media outlets, my reason for staying away from my daddy and letting him be without us was for only one reason: to safeguard our kids. I really thought that the people in charge were protecting other families the same way.

Even though the scale of the disclosures now is more horrifying than we ever could have imagined, I truly, genuinely hope that justice is done and the children are looked after. A royal family insider told the Daily Mail today: “This is up to Sussex.”

Meghan’s father, Thomas, first responded strongly by saying that he didn’t have child porn, claiming the allegations were ‘disgusting lies’. Thomas Sr replied that if his son Thomas Jr has told the media he possessed such a large collection of child sexual abuse imagery on both desktops and cell phones, those are words I would call the most hurtful anyone could level at me,’ said Sr ​‍​‌‍​‍‌Thomas.

Thomas Sr Denies Child Abuse Image Claims, Calls Son’s Allegations “Sick Lies”

He​‍​‌‍​‍‌ only talked with the Daily Mail while staying in a rehab centre in Florida, where after the left leg amputation below the knee due to a massive blood clot in last December, he has been working to walk with a prosthetic limb, he said.

He added, “I am really amazed. I am so hurt, and of course, I am upset that my son is throwing these accusations on me. I would never be capable of doing the things I am accused of. It is the worst kind of thing that anyone could accuse me of. This is nonsense. It is simply a collection of lies. It is a sickness in a way. I really am at a loss as to the reason why Tom is bent on ruining me through his lies.”

The half-brother of Meghan Markle, Thomas Jr, 60, was the one to reveal the shocking accusations to The Sun, documenting how he found ‘hundreds’ of child sex images stored on computers and a cellphone in four large storage boxes ‘left behind’ by Thomas Sr when he moved back to the US from the Philippines earlier this year.

However, Thomas Sr overturned his son’s story, saying those computers haven’t been in his hands since he left Rosarito in Mexico with his son in January 2025 and moved to the Philippines ‘for a fresh start’.

He explained, “The computers were packed up in Mexico and shipped to the Philippines by cargo boat. It took the boat several months to make the journey. I kept asking Tom to give me my computers, but he wouldn’t do it.”

Also, he exclaimed, “Tom told me they were in the basement of the apartment where we were living. I was never able to figure out what his reason for not giving the computers to me was. I don’t even know who was using the computers. We moved to [two adjoining] houses in December 2025, and I was taken ill [with the blood clot], and I was in hospital and then a rehab centre. Every time I asked Tom to bring my computers to me, he ​‍​‌‍​‍‌refused.”

Thomas Sr Markle Rejects Estrangement Claim, Says He Never Downloaded Abuse Images

In​‍​‌‍​‍‌ response to the statement from the ‘source close to Meghan Markle’ that the Sun article quoted, saying, ‘Now maybe people will finally understand why she has had nothing to do with her father since 2018,’ Thomas Sr simply said, ‘I don’t believe that.’

He also mentioned that he and Meghan Markle enjoyed a ‘great’ relationship until she met Harry and that on the very day before their wedding, he ‘stupidly’ agreed to be photographed by the paparazzi. If the situation had gone differently, he would have been able to walk her down the aisle, as he had two heart attacks a few days later that made him incapable of doing that.

Thomas Sr’s health has been deteriorating for a number of years. In May he went back to the US for medical treatment, and a few days ago he underwent a procedure for the third time to insert a stent into his heart, as the doctors had earlier found that it was only 30 per cent functional.

When he met with the Daily Mail, the nurses at the rehab unit had just taken an electrocardiogram owing to his heart rate being alarmingly high as a result of him being stressed out by the news of his son’s charges against him.

The accusation was that, in order to find a mobile phone for his fiancée, Rose, Thomas Jr. opened not just one but four storage boxes of his father’s belongings in July this year. While opening one phone, he was shocked to see a graphic child sex image. I have never downloaded anything like that before,’ Thomas Sr ​‍​‌‍​‍‌. said.

Thomas Sr Demands Forensic Check to Disprove Claims, Accuses Son of Financial Motive

Thomas​‍​‌‍​‍‌ Jr. opened the computer and stated he had witnessed the screensaver displaying “hundreds” of terrible thumbnail images he claimed. Also, at one time, he claimed, he had seen a video of a young girl in a prostitution-like act.

The Daily Mail interrogated Thomas Sr as, “Have you been downloading porn onto your PCs?” “Never. Never. Never. I have never done that,” Thomas Sr said.

Further, Thomas Sr. said computer experts would gladly check if the computers had indeed been in his possession at the time when the allegedly vile content was downloaded.

“The dreadful lies against me with no proof are very frustrating”” he said. “What makes you accuse a man for an act like this without any evidence?“

”I haven’t spoken to Tom for a few months. I don’t even know where he got this story from. Perhaps I’m to conclude he’s trying to make some money, by the way. “My feelings fluctuate from a very sad state to an intense anger state.”

Thomas Sr explained he was very close to his son until the latter departed from his Oregon house in 2022 and went to Mexico, where his father was living, after leaving Hollywood, where he had been the most successful lighting director.

Thomas Sr remarked to Tom, “After my stroke, Tom was living with me, and financially, I was supporting him. Actually, for quite some time, my financial aid for him was the only source of support for him. It terminated when a family member uncovered the fact that Tom had been using my credit card account for his own ​‍​‌‍​‍‌needs.”

Cebu Police Launch Probe After Thomas Jr. Reports Claims; Sister Samantha Defends Father

Thomas​‍​‌‍​‍‌ Jr initially claimed to the FBI and US Center for Abused and Exploited Children of finding the evidence against his father a few days later. This week, Thomas Jr, with a British Sun journalist, handed evidence to local police here in Cebu City, Philippines.

The authorities have now opened an investigation. “An investigation at this point would be a good idea, as I never did what they accuse me of,” Thomas Sr said. “I’m genuinely frightened, as I no longer have the same level of confidence that everyone will believe me. A person is judged by the accusations even when they are totally untrue. That is what will always be considered the most heinous of crimes if it’s used to accuse someone.” “I want Tom to understand why my son and I are so hurt by this.

The last time we talked, which was friendly enough, is several months ago. He would probably ask me for some money, and given the nature of my relationship with him, I would have no objections at all. “Thomas’s father, Thomas Sr, is a great-grandfather to two-year-old Archie and Meghan’s third child, a daughter. Thomas Sr will turn 70 next February.

Samantha, 61, Thomas’s eldest daughter and his primary carer in Florida, is ‘very angry’ with her brother’s accusations. Samantha, who lives in Florida and regularly visits her father’s ranch in Texas, and Thomas Jr. are Thomas Sr.’s two first children; only Robert Thomas was alive when Thomas Sr. passed away. Samantha, who was her father’s main and most frequent carer from his stroke on October 15, 2011, through her father’s death on June 15, 2018, said that her brother’s accusations “have no merit whatsoever” and that her brother is a “disgusting person for making up these lies”. He wants to destroy our dad.” Her statement ended with “Shame on him. It is just really despicable on her brother’s part.” She said, “There is not anything in the least bit of these disgusting allegations to the contrary.” She added, “If my brother had been telling me a tale instead of me telling him, I would have been the one who would be making up lies. What’s the point in doing it?” It is a well-known fact that the family of the father of the former UK Prime Minister has not been spared all this, and in fact it is said publicly that it has been very difficult for the family. That’s the kind of thing that the Thomas family said in their statement, in particular, “This type of situation must have been so hard for the family because it seems to be that everyone has a bad opinion about their family ​‍​‌‍​‍‌members.”

Samantha Markle Calls Brother’s Claims “Lies” for Money

“My‍‍‍ brother had come out with those made up things days following the discontinuing of my dad’s money from the cash he gave. My brother had treated the dad as a cash cow until the money was withheld. Then he began to fabricate extremely wild lies he could think of in order to profit from those lies through the media.”.

‘That period of the two years those computers spent away from the possession of my dad is indeed quite an ample time to change their contents. Such allegations without any concrete evidence are quite a waste of time. It’s quite impossible to establish who those computers were accessed/used by for the several previous years.’ ‘Dad himself was not able to have access to those computers. One cannot be sure of whom the author of dad’s set up was.’

She alleged that her brother has a ‘vendetta’ against their father: “Every time Tom runs out of funds they come up with lies and sell stories because it’s such an easy way of making money.” “My brother never actually went beyond the 8th grade [i.e. he stopped going to school when he was 14]”.

For Dad, it is a very cruel thing to do if someone takes advantage of him when he is so physically and mentally fragile. The problem with Tom, the person behind these stories, is that he thinks dad did not love him the way he wanted, was jealous that dad had more money when his sister Meghan Markle came, and that’s the reason why father did not give her much attention. But dad really did his best for us all. Tom was very kindly taken care of as well as was ‍‍‍I.

Samantha: Brother Has History of Lying for Cash; Thomas Sr. Says Accusation Is Devastating

So,‍‍‍ it is believed that Meghan Markle was aware of this. Nevertheless, as Meghan’s mouthpiece, I can only say that, given her public praise of Tom as a fantastic father at the UN and on her blog Tig, she is unlikely to have gone about it that way had she suspected such a thing.

‘Tom’s got a habit of making lies about father to get cash. My dad didn’t do it in the first place, he told that lie in Thailand with hookers to make an extra buck. Lies for money only.’ Tom, who is a heavy drinker, has a lot of resentment. The fact that Tom is doing this just to get father back is really terrible. The way that Tom is going to try and get rid of father is just awful,’

Thomas Sr. was contemplating getting legal aid but at the same time stated: ‘But I really do not know which way I am supposed to defend myself? In case someone brings an accusation against you with these kinds of things, it spreads like wildfire and some people will keep believing it. It is awful. I cannot stop being angry, I just cannot bear the hurt, but all I need to do is that the entire world must find out that these are awful ‍‍‍lies.’