Meghan Markle knew since 2019 that her father consumed child pornography

BarcelonaThe Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, knew since January 2019 that her father allegedly consumed child pornography. The police alerted her seven years ago, after her wedding and before she left the British Royal Family in 2020 and moved to the United States with Prince Harry. This was the reason why she cut off contact with him, Markle herself explained on Friday in a letter to the newspaper The Sun. The Duchess states that she has endured media criticism regarding her cold father-daughter relationship so as not to hinder the investigations into these "disturbing and unsettling accusations," as requested by the Metropolitan Police. "I hope it is understood that all distance from my father and my decision not to allow him any contact with our children had a reason: to protect them." According to the BBC, the Duchess had one last communication with her father, who is 82 years old, last year, when he asked to see her and the grandchildren "before dying." She responded by letter telling him that she and the police knew he had abused girls.

British police have confirmed that in 2019—the Duchess was mistaken about the date, as she said summer 2018—they received accusations against Markle's father. Scotland Yard reportedly shared this information with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex but not with other security agencies. The Telegraph reports, citing sources close to the family, that the Duchess is "disgusted and frustrated" by the inaction of the Metropolitan Police, because the sexual abuse accusations against her father were not transferred to foreign authorities. Scotland Yard has explained that it had received a letter "containing various allegations of alleged crimes" outside British jurisdiction and did not transfer them to the Philippines, where Markle resided.

In her statement, Meghan said she was "overwhelmed" by information worse than she could have imagined: "My thoughts are with the children who may have been abused." Meghan Markle's unusual statements came just hours after her half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, denounced their father for having discovered that he had "hundreds, if not thousands" of explicit images of pornography and child abuse at his home in Cebu (Philippines), where he lived until May. The father left in a hurry to receive care after suffering a heart attack, which ended in the amputation of a leg. The son has revealed that the four boxes he found contained images of 10 or 11-year-old girls participating in sexual acts in different places, among which he recognized the house that his father had for a few years in Rosarito (Baja California). The father, who is now in Florida, has denied it. Thomas Markle Jr's sister, Samantha, famous for her disagreements with her stepsister, says it is a setup because the father has stopped sending the boy money, and the Philippine authorities have opened an investigation.