Meghan Markle Says She Kept Archie and Lilibet Away from Her Dad Thomas Markle ‘To Protect Them’
Meghan Markle Says She Kept Archie and Lilibet Away from Her Dad Thomas Markle ‘To Protect Them’
Becca LongmireFri, October 23, 2026 at 3:00 PM UTC
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Meghan Markle says she kept her father, Thomas Markle Sr., from having contact with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet for “one reason: to protect them”
The Duchess of Sussex revealed that she learned of “troubling and disturbing allegations” against her father in 2018, shortly after her royal wedding, and was “given assurances” at the time that they were being investigated
Her comments come amid new reports of an investigation into allegations that Thomas Sr. possessed child sexual abuse material, which he has denied
Meghan Markle is revealing why she made the decision to keep her two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, from having contact with her estranged father, Thomas Markle Sr.
The Duchess of Sussex, 45, addressed her decision in a statement shared with PEOPLE on Friday, Oct. 23, amid reports that her father, 82, is being investigated over allegations involving child sexual abuse material.
Meghan Markle; Thomas MarkleCredit: Astrida Valigorsky/Getty; ITV/Shutterstock
“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 said.
Meghan shares Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, with her husband, Prince Harry, 42. Her father has never met the couple’s children, who were born in 2019 and 2021, respectively.
In her statement, Meghan revealed that she had been made aware of “troubling and disturbing allegations” against her father in 2018, following her royal wedding to Harry that May.
“In 2018, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection. That letter was subsequently shared with me. It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father, and I was given assurances that these were being investigated,” she said.
At the time, the allegations had not been substantiated, and Meghan was advised that speaking publicly about them could jeopardize any potential investigation, a source familiar with the situation tells PEOPLE. She was also concerned about the legal implications of publicly repeating unproven claims, the source says.
“I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families,” she continued in her recent statement, referring to her efforts to protect her children following the 2018 letter. “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 Markle in October 2025Credit: Leigh Vogel/Getty
Meghan said she was “deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours,” adding, “My thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed.”
On Thursday, Oct. 22, The Sun reported that Meghan’s half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr., 60, had alerted authorities after allegedly discovering a large collection of child sexual abuse material among their father’s belongings at his former home in Cebu, Philippines.
Thomas Jr. claimed to have found “hundreds, if not thousands” of images in four large boxes containing computers and other belongings, according to the outlet. He said he reported the discovery to authorities in the Philippines and the United States, including the FBI.
Philippine Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Ty confirmed on Oct. 23 that a task force investigating human trafficking and online child sexual abuse in Cebu was looking into the matter, according to Reuters.
Thomas Sr. has strongly denied the allegations.
“I’m shocked, I’m hurt and 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 Daily Mail on Friday, Oct. 23, reportedly from a rehab facility in Florida.“This is bulls---,” he added, per the Mail. “It’s just a bunch of lies. It’s sick. I have no idea why Tom is trying to destroy me with these lies.”
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Asked whether King Charles was aware of the 2018 letter referenced in Meghan’s statement, Buckingham Palace declined to comment, saying it was a matter for the Sussexes.
A spokesperson for the Met Police said, “We are aware of media reports that officers from the Met’s Royalty and Specialist Protection Command were involved in the passing on of a letter in 2018. We are undertaking enquiries internally in an effort to confirm this.” The Met Police have not and are not currently investigating a man in his 80s who resides outside the U.K.
Meghan’s comments shed new light on a family estrangement that has played out publicly since her 2018 wedding to Harry. While her fractured relationship with her father has been widely documented, the Duchess has now explicitly linked her decision to prevent him from having contact with her children to concerns about their protection.
Thomas Sr. was initially expected to walk Meghan down the aisle at her May 2018 wedding. However, he ultimately did not attend amid controversy over staged paparazzi photographs and reported health problems. Meghan walked partway down the aisle with Charles, who was then the Prince of Wales.
Thomas Sr. subsequently acknowledged staging paparazzi photographs ahead of the wedding. Meghan later addressed their estrangement during her and Harry’s 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
“I’ve lost my father,” she said at the time.
Thomas Markle Sr. in March 2023Credit: LionsShareNews / BACKGRID
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The relationship remained fractured in the years that followed. In December 2025, Meghan attempted to contact her father after learning that he had undergone a leg amputation.
At the time, a spokesperson for the Duchess of Sussex confirmed that she had attempted to reach Thomas Sr. following news of his health ordeal. After he publicly said he had not heard from his daughter, her spokesperson confirmed that a letter she had written was “safely” in his hands.
The contents of that correspondence have not been made public, and the nature of Meghan’s message remains unclear.
The Duchess of Sussex’s private correspondence had previously been at the center of a legal battle in 2021, which saw her win her privacy and copyright infringement case against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of The Mail on Sunday.
The case had stemmed from five articles that had been published by the outlet in February 2019, with the pieces including snippets from a handwritten letter that Meghan had sent her father shortly after her wedding.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
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