The police inquiry into the Duchess of Sussex’s estranged father has widened to include his son Thomas Markle Jr.
The dramatic development was announced by the interior minister of the Philippines, where officers are investigating possible child sexual abuse offences.
Meghan’s half-brother Thomas Jr had reported their father to police in the Philippines, where he had been living, after finding a hoard of disturbing images in boxes of his possessions.
Today, Interior minister Juanito Victor Remulla gave a press conference about the case in the capital Manila and 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 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 Jr, pictured hand-in-hand with his fiancee Rose in the Philippines in May 2025. There is no suggestion she is involved in the police inquiry
Meghan, pictured as a teenager, has been estranged from her father for years. Lock ups he rented, containing his belongings, have been searched
Mr Remulla is the country’s equivalent of a Home Secretary. He described Thomas Markle Snr, 82, as ‘a possible sex offender of the grossest kind’ when the story first broke last week.
Meghan’s father, who has since returned to the United States, has denied the allegations, calling them ‘sick lies’.
Mr Remulla said police had asked Thomas Jr, 60, about the claim of underage girls, and said that he had ‘claimed to be merely doing TikTok [videos].’
The police investigation was launched last week when Thomas Jr reported his father to officers in the Philippines city of Cebu.
The Duchess of Sussex then revealed she had cut her father off in 2019 after receiving a letter accusing him of child abuse, to protect her own children from him.
That letter was sent by Mr Markle Snr’s first wife to the Metropolitan Police which passed it to Meghan and Prince Harry. She wrote that he told her he visited the Far East because ’12-year-olds are legal there’.
Then last week, the Daily Mail discovered a stash of vile images in a lock-up rented by Mr Markle Snr in Rosarito, Mexico, where he used to live.
Now the authorities are trawling through both troves of child abuse images that allegedly belong to Mr Markle Snr.
Mexican Guardia Nacional sex crimes investigators are seen raiding Thomas Markle’s storage locker in Rosarito on Saturday morning, hours after the Daily Mail reported that it contained child pornography
A grim-faced official with the Mexican Guardia Nacional totes a cardboard box during Saturday’s raid at Thomas Markle’s storage facility
The newly uncovered letter allegedly sent by Roslyn Loveless – Mr Markle’s first wife – claims he admitted that he travelled to the Far East to have sex with young girls.
The seven-page letter, seen by The Sun and sent to the Met Police in 2019, details a conversation which Ms Loveless, who died two years ago, claims 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 admitted travelling to the Far East for sex in the past but has strenuously denied claims of underage girls and accused his son of making up allegations for money.
Mr Markle Jnr has reportedly told the FBI the location of two storage units 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.
A stash of alleged child abuse images was discovered by the Daily Mail inside a storage locker rented by Meghan’s father in Rosarito, Mexico. The Mail alerted the FBI to the find last week, prompting a raid by Mexican authorities.
Police in the Philippines are also said to be ‘very close’ to bringing formal charges against Mr Markle after child abuse images were allegedly found at his apartment.
Mr Markle Jnr claims his father told him around 2011 that he had two lock-ups ‘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 stored boxes of memorabilia from his own career in the units, which are now expected to form 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.’
