Thomas Markle Sr. Under Investigation as Niece Speaks Out

Thomas Markle Sr., the father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is being investigated for possession of child abuse images, according to Town & Country. He has denied wrongdoing. The case has moved across two countries, and now one of his granddaughters has spoken publicly about him.

Authorities in the Philippines are investigating the claims. Reuters reported the probe on October 23. The material was reported to police there by Thomas Markle Jr., who said he had found it. In London, the Metropolitan Police, the city's main police force, opened an inquiry after the duchess said she had received a letter with disturbing allegations about her father. The duchess said she was "deeply distressed" by the claims, according to statements carried by NBC News and AFP.

The newest voice in the story belongs to Noelle Rasmussen. She is Meghan's niece, the daughter of Samantha Markle, Meghan's half-sister. Rasmussen told The Telegraph that she was glad her uncle Thomas Markle Jr. is "whistleblowing," according to Town & Country. She also said the allegations did not surprise her.

Rasmussen said she criticized the Metropolitan Police for failing to act on a letter sent by Roslyn Loveless. Loveless was Thomas Markle Sr.'s first wife and Rasmussen's grandmother. She has died. When Rasmussen was 16, Loveless wrote to police and to Child Protective Services, the child welfare agency in the United States, asking that Rasmussen be taken out of her mother's custody. Rasmussen has said she rarely saw her grandfather while growing up.

Rasmussen described a childhood sense that something about her grandfather was off. "Something off" is how one outlet put it in its report on her comments. She is estranged from her mother. She has not spoken to her aunt in years. She said she supports Meghan's decision to keep her children from seeing Thomas Markle Sr.

Rasmussen's account comes from a family that has spent years in public disagreement, and her comments add a view from inside it. Her own history is part of what she describes. The claims against Thomas Markle Sr. are allegations. He has denied wrongdoing, and the investigations are still open.

For readers in the United States, the story is personal in a plain way. A father, a son, a daughter, a granddaughter, and a grandmother who once went to the police about a child, all in one family. Each of them is now talking about the others in public.