The FBI has offered assistance to Philippine authorities investigating allegations involving Thomas Markle Sr., according to a new report.
Police in the Philippines began looking into the claims after Thomas Markle Jr. said he discovered “hundreds” of alleged child pornography images at their father’s home.
The FBI confirmed on Friday that it would support the local investigation where appropriate, TMZ reported.
“The FBI is aware of the allegations and will provide support, as appropriate, to the Philippine authorities. We will also investigate any related allegations of federal violations of U.S. law,” the agency told the outlet.
Thomas Sr. spent most of his life in the United States before retiring to Mexico. He later moved to Cebu in the Philippines, but has since returned to America and is living at a rehabilitation center in Florida.
He has rejected the accusations, describing them as “sick lies.”
The Duchess of Sussex said yesterday that she learned of the “troubling and disturbing” allegations soon after her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry.
Meghan, who returned to Britain with her family over the summer after six years in the United States, has been estranged from her 82-year-old father since the marriage.
The FBI has reportedly offered to assist Philippine police investigating allegations concerning Thomas Markle Sr.
Meghan, who returned to Britain with her family over the summer after six years in the United States, has been estranged from her 82-year-old father since the wedding
She said she chose not to let him meet her children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, “for one reason: to protect them.”
Separate reports have also revealed that Thomas Sr. was accused of child abuse in a 2018 letter sent to Scotland Yard, the headquarters of London’s Metropolitan Police Service.
The letter was reportedly addressed to the force’s Fixated Threat Assessment Centre, a specialist unit that handles potential threats involving members of the Royal Family and other prominent figures. It allegedly accused Thomas Sr. of sexually abusing a child.
The document also reportedly claimed that he had admitted traveling to Thailand and the Philippines to abuse children.
However, the Metropolitan Police said Friday that it could not confirm whether officers had ever passed the letter to Meghan, despite her claim that the information had been shared with her.
The Sun has reportedly obtained a copy of the letter, supporting claims that it existed after Meghan publicly discussed the allegations.
The letter is understood to have since been provided to police, who are conducting internal inquiries into whether it was delivered to the Duchess in 2018.
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: “We are aware of media reports that officers from the Met’s Royalty and Specialist Protection Command were involved in passing on a letter in 2018.”
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Meghan said she did not allow Thomas Markle Sr. to meet her children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, “for one reason: to protect them”
“We are undertaking enquiries internally in an effort to confirm this.”
The Daily Mail understands that the agency has not previously investigated Thomas Sr and is not currently probing him.
The force has not confirmed if any information was passed to law enforcement agencies abroad.
One source told The Sun: ‘Questions must be asked about whether the Met ever acted on the information in the letter.
‘They promised Meghan they were investigating but nothing seems to have been done at all.’
After news broke worldwide about the allegations against her father, Meghan said in a statement: ‘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.
‘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.
‘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.
‘I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families.
‘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.’
Thomas Sr said allegations made by his 60-year-old son that he downloaded a huge stash of child sex abuse images onto computers and cellphones ‘is the worst thing anyone could accuse me of.’
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail from his rehab center in Florida, he said: ‘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.
‘This is bulls***. It’s just a bunch of lies. It’s sick. I have no idea why Tom is trying to destroy me with these lies.’
After news broke worldwide about the allegations against her father, Meghan said in a statement: ‘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’
Thomas Sr is learning to walk with a prosthetic limb after his left leg was amputated below the knee last December following a massive blood clot.
Thomas Sr challenged his son’s account, claiming the computers had not been in his possession since he left Rosarito, Mexico, with his son in January 2025 and moved to the Philippines ‘for a fresh start.’
He said: ‘Those computers were boxed up in Mexico and put on a cargo ship which took months to get to the Philippines. I kept asking Tom for my computers but he wouldn’t give them to me.’