‘Disgusting monster’: Meghan Markle’s dad slammed by son amid Philippine police probe

The estranged half-brother of Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, has called their father a “disgusting monster” after handing over a trove of alleged child abuse material belonging to their shared parent to police in the Philippines.

The four boxes containing mobile phones, computer equipment and other personal belongings were handed over to the Philippine National Police’s Women and Children Protection Centre last week by Thomas Markle Jnr, who was previously his father’s full-time carer.

Markle Jnr and his father, former Hollywood lighting technician and cinematographer Thomas Markle Snr, moved to Cebu City in the Philippines in January 2025 after previously living in Mexico.

Markle Snr left the Southeast Asian nation in May this year, according to the police. He reportedly travelled to the United States for urgent medical treatment.

Allen Rae Co, a spokesman for the Philippine National Police, told local media outlet ABS-CBN on Monday that investigators were working to confirm the origin and ownership of the material they had received.

“We are very saddened by this,” Co was quoted as saying, adding: “We will not let anybody, whether foreign national or Filipino … do this to our children.”

Melvin Matibag, director of the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation, said that his bureau had received a request for information “regarding the possession of materials … of minors, children, that are not good” from its US counterpart, the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“They used to be based in Cebu and as far as we know, some of them were killed,” Matibag was quoted as saying by ABS-CBN, presumably referring to the children in the case.

On Sunday, Jonvic Remulla, the Philippine interior minister, told British newspaper The Guardian that authorities were analysing digital images allegedly belonging to Markle Snr found at his former home in Cebu.

“Right now, all signs point to a possible sex offender of the grossest kind,” Remulla was quoted as saying, adding that a forensic investigation of the material would be completed within a week.

In an earlier statement to Agence France-Presse, Remulla described the material that police received as a “trove of child pornography materials as well as a laptop”, adding that appropriate legal action would be taken against Markle Snr if “there is sufficient evidence to charge him”.

‘Disgusting monster’

In an interview with British newspaper The Sun published on Monday, Markle Jnr said that he had found “hundreds, if not thousands” of child abuse images in his father’s belongings.

“It took nine hours to sign all the documentation as I handed over all that stuff but I was relieved to get it off my hands,” he was quoted as saying. “I think it will take months to check all these items and confirm my father is the disgusting monster I’ve now disowned.”

Markle Jnr further vowed to see his father “in court” if the case was ultimately transferred to the US.

In comments to British newspaper the Daily Mail published on Friday, Markle Snr denied possessing child abuse images, calling the accusations “sick lies”. He later admitted travelling to the Philippines at least twice to pay for sex, but maintained in remarks published by the newspaper’s sister publication the Mail on Sunday that he had “never had sex with anyone under the age of 18”.

Markle Snr is reportedly now based at a rehabilitation centre in Florida after having his leg amputated.

Meghan Markle, who is married to Britain’s Prince Harry, responded to the allegations against her father in a statement released on Friday, in which she said she was “deeply distressed” by the news, adding that her “thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed”.

“Although the breadth of what has now been uncovered is more sickening than one could ever imagine, my sincerest hope is that justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children,” she added.