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They are the allegations against her father that have left Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, “deeply distressed”.
In explosive claims aired by The Sun and reported worldwide, Thomas Markle Snr, 82, stands accused of stashing “hundreds, if not thousands” of child sex abuse images in his Philippines home.
The hoard was allegedly discovered by his son, Meghan’s half-brother, Thomas Markle Jnr, who reported their father – currently living in the US after complications from a leg amputation – to detectives.
Now, as the Philippines interior minister told the Guardian that Markle Snr may be a “possible sex offender of the grossest kind”, sources tell Woman’s Day that the allegations could prove to be “the final tipping point” in the fragile relationship between the Sussexes and Britain’s royal family.
Markle Snr has vehemently denied the allegations, saying he is “shocked” and “very upset” that his son has made the claims.
“I have never had sex with anyone under the age of 18,” Markle Snr told the Mail on Sunday as he vowed to clear his name.
He admitted he had “slept with prostitutes” on at least two occasions while in the Philippines, saying, “I like Asian women, but that is not a crime”.
Buckingham Palace, meanwhile, was quick to distance itself from the escalating furore, with a spokesman saying it was “a matter for the Sussex Household”.
“This may give King Charles III the ammunition to take a firmer stance in distancing the monarchy from Harry and Meghan,” royal commentator Kinsey Schofield told Page Six.
“The Sussexes are private citizens, and perhaps it’s time the Palace made that separation unmistakably clear.”
For her part, Meghan has said that she was made aware of allegations about her father years ago – thanks to a letter that was sent to Britain’s Metropolitan Police.
At the time, Meghan said, she was “given assurance” that the claims made within the missive “were being investigated”.
“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,” Meghan – who is estranged from her father – explained.
“I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families.”
The Metropolitan Police – which confirmed it received a letter in early 2019 – is now facing questions over why it did not act on the contents of the letter..
The force has said it is “reviewing its handling of the matter”, including whether it needs to be referred to the police watchdog.
Royal expert Tom Sykes weighed into the matter in his substack, The Royalist, on October 25, agreeing that questions did indeed need to be asked.
“My own sense is that there is a limit to how far one can expect a British police force to pursue a single letter about a US citizen who had never set foot in the United Kingdom and was living in Mexico,” Sykes wrote.
“But Meghan was a working royal at the time, with the full weight of the institution behind her. And given what we now know about Prince Andrew, whose scandalous behavior was covered up for decades with the complicity of the royal family and the police, the question has to be asked: did the Met not pursue Thomas Markle in an attempt to limit embarrassment for the royals?”
An insider tells Woman’s Day that the Palace reaction to the furore so far says a lot.
“It’s very telling that the palace refused to comment and made sure it was known that they view this as a Sussex matter only,” a source says.
“Of course, that has people predicting that the royal family will distance themselves even more from Meghan and Harry, they just won’t want any sort of association to Thomas Markle and this whole ugly mess.
“Fact is their reputation can’t afford it, not after everything that happened with Andrew and Epstein,” the insider goes on.
“Certainly people are sympathetic towards Meghan, it’s horrible that she’s having to deal with this, but there’s also a lot of talk about what a nightmare her entire family is. “It seems to have been one thing after another since almost the moment she and Harry got engaged, and each thing seems to top the last, with this latest horror being by far the worst.”
While senior royals have so far stayed silent on the matter, entertainment reporter Rob Shuter reported in his Naughty But Nice substack that Meghan may go public with a major UK sit-down interview.
“Meghan believes the public may be looking at her differently now, and she wants to seize that opportunity,” a source told the outlet.
“She sees a chance to tell her story, explain her decisions and reconnect with people who feel they never heard her side.”
