The relationship between Meghan Markle and her father, Thomas Markle, has been strained for years, but new details have now emerged about why the Duchess of Sussex chose to keep him away from her life and her children's lives. According to a report published Sunday in the British newspaper The Times, Meghan sent her father a letter last December making clear he would not be allowed to meet his grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet.
The letter surfaced against the backdrop of an ongoing investigation in the Philippines into the 82-year-old Markle Sr. on suspicion of possessing material documenting child sexual abuse. The father vigorously denies the allegations against him.
The letter that closed the door
According to reports in the British press, Meghan sent the letter after her father underwent amputation of his left leg following medical complications. At the time, he expressed a desire to renew contact with his daughter, from whom he has been estranged since 2018.
Despite his medical condition, however, Meghan made clear in the letter that she did not intend to renew contact with him or allow him to meet her children. According to the reports, her decision was connected to information that had reached her years earlier containing serious allegations against her father.
The affair exploded after Meghan's half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr., claimed he found hundreds of photographs in their father's home in the Philippines allegedly documenting child sexual abuse. According to him, he contacted local authorities and the FBI following the discovery.
Philippine authorities opened an investigation, and the Philippine interior minister said the materials are undergoing forensic examination. Markle Sr., for his part, rejects the accusations, and in an interview with the Daily Mail claimed they are lies. At this stage, his guilt has not been proven.
