Meghan says she was informed about 'disturbing allegations' against her father in 2018

The Duchess of Sussex has said she was informed about “disturbing allegations” about her estranged father in 2018.

In a statement, Meghan said a letter containing allegations against Thomas Markle was sent to the Metropolitan Police that year and subsequently shared with her.

Her comments come after reports that images of child sexual abuse allegedly belonging to her father had been found at his former home in the Philippines.

Thomas Markle, who is 82 and based in the US, denies possessing any such images.

Commenting after the allegations, first reported by The Sun newspaper, external, the duchess said: “I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours, and my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed.”

She said that when she received the letter outlining allegations against her father, she was “given assurance that these were being investigated”.

She added she hoped it could be understood why she had kept her distance from her father and did “not allow him to have contact with our children”.

This was “to protect them”, Meghan said, adding that she had “trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families”.

She described the allegations as “more sickening than one could ever imagine” and said her “sincerest hope is that justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children”.

Meghan’s half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, alleged to The Sun that he had found child abuse images at his father’s home in the Philippines and reported to the police.

The Undersecretary for the Philippines Department of Justice, Nicholas Ty, told the BBC that “the matter is currently being investigated” by an anti-human trafficking and child sexual exploitation task force in Cebu.

Philippines Interior Minister Jonvic Remulla separately told the BBC that national police had secured Thomas Markle Snr’s computer to conduct a comprehensive digital forensic examination.

Investigators are currently analysing the data to determine the full scope and extent of his alleged criminal activities, with the minister saying it would take one week to get the forensic results.

The BBC has contacted Thomas Markle Snr and the Metropolitan Police for comment.

The allegations about Meghan’s estranged father cast a new light on their complicated family relationships.

The statement from the Duchess of Sussex says the sharing of information about her father happened in 2018 – the year in which she married Prince Harry.

It is understood that Meghan first learnt about the allegations against her father after the wedding.

Sources close to the Sussexes said Meghan could not speak publicly about the allegations when she first learned of them, in order to avoid jeopardising any future investigation.

Speaking out could have resulted in legal action against her, the sources said.

The claims add a fresh dimension to the questions about why Prince Harry and their children did not ever seem to have met Meghan’s father – and why relations seemed to be so strained.

With such question marks over her estranged father – and he has denied any wrongdoing – it also raises the issue of whether that played a part in the Sussexes’ hurried return to the UK in late summer.