Met Police told of allegations about Meghan's father, but did not share with other forces

The Metropolitan Police has confirmed it received a letter in early 2019 containing allegations about the Duchess of Sussex's father, Thomas Markle.

The force said on Saturday it decided not to share the accusations with other law enforcement agencies, and is now considering referring itself to the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Mr Markle is being investigated by officers in the Philippines over claims that he kept child sexual abuse images at his home. He has denied possessing the images.

In a statement to Sky News on Friday, Meghan said she was "deeply distressed" by the allegations about her father and added that a letter had been sent to the Met in 2018 which was subsequently shared with her.

A spokesperson for the Sussexes has now said that "without the benefit of a diary entry or contemporaneous record" the duchess "may have been mistaken by a few months" about when she was told about the accusations.

The spokesperson said: "If the MPS [Metropolitan Police Service] holds a time-stamped record confirming that the letter was reviewed in 2019, that should be treated as the accurate reference point for when it was received and shared with the duchess."

On Saturday, the Met said it received a letter in January 2019 featuring claims of "alleged offending outside the UK" by Mr Markle, which was reviewed and then passed to the office of Prince Harry and Meghan.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: "Following a thorough review of Met Police systems and records, we have confirmed that in January 2019, we received a letter containing a number of claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom. It was sent to the MPS Protection Command to raise concerns in relation to the security of the Duchess of Sussex.

"The letter was reviewed and a decision was made that it should be passed to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their awareness. The details of the allegations in the letter were not shared with other law enforcement agencies.

"The MPS is reviewing the handling of this matter in 2019 and considering whether a referral to the IOPC is necessary to review our approach."

It is understood the Metropolitan Police has not previously, nor is the force currently, investigating Mr Markle.

Meghan has been estranged from her father since 2018, when he was caught staging paparazzi photos in the run-up to her wedding to Harry in May that year.

The duchess said on Friday: "I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications' distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children, was for one reason: to protect them."

Mr Markle did not attend the wedding, leaving the King - who was then the Prince of Wales - to accompany Meghan down the aisle. Her mother, Doria Ragland, was the only member of her family present.

The Sun reported that Meghan's half-brother, Thomas Markle Jnr, alleged he had found a stash of images belonging to their father at his former home in the Philippines.

The newspaper said he also contacted the FBI in the US in July.

Mr Markle moved to the country in 2025 after suffering a series of strokes.

He has called the accusations "sick lies", in an interview with the Daily Mail.

In December last year, the duchess contacted her father via a letter after he had his left leg amputated and told a newspaper he did not want to die while distanced from his daughter.

He is now reportedly living in a rehabilitation centre in Florida.

Harry and Meghan moved back to the UK in August, six years after they stepped down as working royals and relocated to the US.

(c) Sky News 2026: Met Police told of allegations about Meghan's father, but did not share with other forces