Philippine police analyse images allegedly found at Thomas Markle Sr's former home

Philippine authorities are analysing digital images allegedly belonging to Thomas Markle Sr, the father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. The images were said to have been found at his former home in Cebu, a city in the central Philippines. Mr Markle Sr denies possessing child sexual abuse images.

Jonvic Remulla, the Philippine Interior Minister, the government minister responsible for the police, told the Guardian that "all signs point to" Mr Markle Sr being a "possible sex offender of the grossest kind". He said a full forensic investigation, the scientific examination of digital evidence, would give a "definitive picture", and that the forensic data would be complete within a week.

Remulla also said in a statement to Agence France-Presse that national police inspected the former home and found a "trove of child pornography materials as well as a laptop". Police are now investigating that laptop. Remulla said the national police would work with counterparts to locate Mr Markle Sr and take legal action if there is enough evidence to charge him.

The allegations began with Mr Markle Sr's son, Thomas Markle Jr. He reported to authorities last week that he had apparently found a stash of child sexual abuse images. A task force in Cebu that targets trafficking and online sexual exploitation of children is investigating the matter, Reuters reported on 23 October.

Mr Markle Sr rejected the claims. He told the Daily Mail that the accusations were "sick lies". He said the computers had not been in his possession since he left Mexico with his son in 2025 and moved to the Philippines "for a fresh start".

Meghan said on Friday, 23 October, that she was "deeply distressed" by the allegations against her father, which were first reported in The Sun. She said she had cut off contact with him to protect her children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five. Mr Markle Sr has never met the two children. Meghan has been estranged from her father since 2018, according to ABC7 News.

A separate thread concerns London. The Metropolitan Police confirmed that it received a letter in January 2019 that contained claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom. The letter went to the Met's Protection Command, the unit that handles security concerns for people at risk. The force passed it to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for awareness, and did not share its details with other law enforcement agencies.

The Met is considering whether to refer its own 2019 handling of the allegations to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, the body that investigates complaints about police in England and Wales. No decision has been announced.

Remulla said that legal action would follow only if the evidence is strong enough to charge Mr Markle Sr. The forensic results, he said, are due within about a week.