Meghan’s half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, last week told The Sun he found a stash of child sexual abuse images belonging to their father at his former home in the Philippines and reported it to local police and the FBI.
asserted
he → tell → police
Mr Markle Sr has admitted paying for sex in the south-east Asian country but denies ever possessing a hoard of such material.
asserted
Sr → admit → material
An Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) spokesperson said: “Following a voluntary conduct referral from the Met Police, we have decided an independent investigation is required into its failure to pass on allegations of serious offending, contained in a letter it received in 2019, to relevant overseas authorities at the time.
asserted
it → say → time
“We have decided that a further conduct matter – relating to an alleged data breach where information was passed on to a third party – should be returned to the force to be appropriately dealt with including via its data breach policies if required.”
asserted
information → decide → policies
The Metropolitan Police said on Thursday it had voluntarily referred itself to the police watchdog.
asserted
it → say → watchdog
The force said that in 2019, it received a letter in which the author suggested “they were writing to raise concerns relating to the security of the Duchess of Sussex”.
uncertain
they → say → Sussex
The Met added the letter “did not actually contain any information specifically related to security matters, it did contain a number of claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom”.
uncertain
it → add → Kingdom
Following a review, a voluntary referral has been made to the IOPC “in respect of the decision not to inform other law enforcement agencies, and the decision to pass the letter to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex”, the Met said.
asserted
Met → follow → Sussex
Commander Adam Slonecki, who leads the Metropolitan Police’s Protection Command, said: “In January 2019, the Met received a letter addressed to our Protection Command, specifically the Fixated Threats Assessment Centre.
“The author of the letter suggested they were writing to raise concerns relating to the security of the Duchess of Sussex.
uncertain
they → lead → Sussex
“While the letter did not actually contain any information specifically related to security matters, it did contain a number of claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom.
uncertain
it → contain → Kingdom
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“The letter was assessed and subsequently passed to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their awareness.
asserted
letter → read → awareness
“The details of the allegations in the letter were not shared with other law enforcement agencies.
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details → share → agencies
“In recent days, the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards has carried out an initial review into our actions following receipt of the letter in 2019.
asserted
Directorate → carry → 2019
“Following that review, a voluntary referral has been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in respect of the decision not to inform other law enforcement agencies, and the decision to pass the letter to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
asserted
referral → follow → Sussex
“In addition, it is our intention to make a number of referrals to relevant overseas law enforcement agencies in relation to the allegations contained within the letter.
asserted
it → make → letter
“That process is under way and will be completed in the coming days.”
asserted
process → complete → days
The Duchess of Sussex sent a final letter to her father while he was recovering in the Philippines from a leg amputation last year, according to reports in the Sun on Sunday.
uncertain
he → send → Sunday
She wrote to say she knows he is an abuser and that he will never see his grandchildren Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, the newspaper said.
asserted
newspaper → write → grandchildren
The BBC and other media including the Telegraph, which said it had seen a copy of the letter sent to Scotland Yard in 2019, reported the note was written by Mr Markle Sr’s ex-wife, Roslyn Loveless, who has since died.
asserted
who → include → ex
She is the mother of Mr Markle Jr and Meghan’s other half-sibling, Samantha Markle, who has defended their father, telling the Mail on Sunday: “I believe this is a set-up.”
asserted
this → defend → Sunday
Mr Markle Sr told the Mail on Sunday that he had “never had sex with anyone under the age of 18”.
asserted
he → tell → 18
He told the paper that when he was single he travelled to the Philippines at least twice and “slept with prostitutes”.
asserted
he → tell → prostitutes
“I like Asian women but that is not a crime,” he said.
asserted
he → like → women
“I am not well enough to go to the Philippines but I will speak to anyone who wants to talk to me.
asserted
who → go → me
I have nothing to hide.”
asserted
I → have → nothing
Mr Markle Sr is learning to walk again at a nursing facility in Florida after he had his leg amputated during life-saving surgery in 2025.
asserted
leg → learn → 2025
He said he would also welcome any forensic examination of his computer, telling the Mail on Sunday: “If there is anything bad on there, it was put there by someone else.”
asserted
it → say → someone
Ms Loveless divorced Mr Markle Sr in 1975 and he married the Duchess of Sussex’s mother, Doria Ragland, four years later.
asserted
he → divorce → mother
Meghan became estranged from her former TV lighting director father in the run-up to her 2018 wedding after he was caught staging paparazzi photographs.
asserted
he → become → photographs
He did not attend the wedding, leaving the King to accompany Meghan down the aisle, meaning the only member of her family present was her mother, Ms Ragland.
asserted
member → attend → family
In 2025, Mr Markle Sr moved to the Philippines for a new life after suffering a series of strokes.
asserted
Sr → move → strokes
The Aporia
