The police investigation into the estranged father of the Duchess of Sussex has expanded to include his son, Thomas Markle Jnr.
The development was announced by the Philippines’ interior minister, as authorities investigate alleged child sexual abuse offences.
Thomas Jnr reported his father to police in the Philippines, where Thomas Markle Snr had been living, after discovering a collection of disturbing images among boxes of his belongings.
Interior minister Juanito Victor Remulla discussed the case at a press conference in Manila. He reportedly said: ‘There are indications suggesting that the son may also be involved in the crime. But only as a person of interest so far; he is not yet being treated as a suspect.
‘We have witnesses that underaged girls are brought to his house and we are following it up.’
Meghan Markle’s half-brother, Thomas Markle Jnr, pictured holding hands with his fiancée Rose in the Philippines in May 2025. There is no suggestion that she is involved in the police inquiry
Meghan, pictured as a teenager, has been estranged from her father for years. Storage units he rented, containing his belongings, have been searched
Remulla is the Philippines’ equivalent of a home secretary. When the allegations first emerged last week, he described Thomas Markle Snr as ‘a possible sex offender of the grossest kind’.
Mr Markle Snr, 82, has since returned to the United States and denied the allegations, describing them as ‘sick lies’.
Mr Remulla said officers had questioned Mr Markle Jnr, 60, about claims involving underage girls. He reportedly responded that he was ‘merely doing TikTok [videos].’
The investigation began last week after Mr Markle Jnr reported his father to police in Cebu, in the Philippines.
The Duchess of Sussex later said she had cut contact with her father in 2019 after receiving a letter accusing him of child abuse, explaining that she wanted to protect her own children.
The letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police by Mr Markle Snr’s first wife, who then forwarded it to Meghan and Prince Harry. In it, she claimed he had said he travelled to the Far East because ‘12-year-olds are legal there’.
Last week, the Daily Mail reported finding a cache of disturbing images in a storage unit rented by Mr Markle Snr in Rosarito, Mexico, where he previously lived.
Authorities are now examining two separate collections of alleged child abuse images said to be linked to Mr Markle Snr.
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Mexican Guardia Nacional sex-crimes investigators are pictured raiding Thomas Markle’s storage locker in Rosarito on Saturday morning, hours after the Daily Mail reported that it contained child pornography
A Mexican Guardia Nacional official carries a cardboard box during Saturday’s raid on Thomas Markle’s storage facility
The newly uncovered letter, allegedly written by Roslyn Loveless, Mr Markle’s first wife, claims he admitted travelling to the Far East to have sex with young girls.
The seven-page letter, seen by The Sun and sent to the Metropolitan Police in 2019, describes a conversation Ms Loveless, who died two years ago, claimed to have had with the Duchess of Sussex’s father.
She reportedly wrote: ‘I questioned Thomas Sr. He denied accusation but stated that he went to the Philippines and Thailand because 12-year-olds are legal there.’
Mr Markle Snr has acknowledged travelling to the Far East for sex in the past, but has strongly denied any involvement with underage girls. He has accused his son of inventing the allegations for financial gain.
Mr Markle Jnr has reportedly told the FBI where two storage units are located at a site in Los Angeles.
‘I dread to think what they might find,’ he said earlier this week, as investigations continued in the Philippines and Mexico.
The Daily Mail said it discovered alleged child abuse images inside a storage locker rented by Meghan’s father in Rosarito. The newspaper alerted the FBI last week, prompting Mexican authorities to carry out a raid.
Police in the Philippines are also reportedly ‘very close’ to bringing formal charges against Mr Markle after alleged child abuse images were found at his apartment.
Mr Markle Jnr claims his father told him around 2011 that he had two storage units ‘stuffed to the brim’ with Meghan’s former furniture and possessions from her time at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
The former Hollywood lighting director also kept boxes of memorabilia from his own career in the units, which are now expected to be examined as part of the investigation.
Tom Jnr, who is said to have been interviewed by the FBI for two hours, told The Sun: ‘My father told me about the two units years ago. He’s had them for about 15 years.
‘One is stuffed to the brim with Meghan’s old furniture. The other is packed with boxes, books, photos, memorabilia from his Hollywood career, items from Meghan’s college days and God knows what else.
‘I dread to think what the FBI might find, especially given what has already been found in the Philippines and Mexico.’