Thomas Markle says he paid for sex but denies child abuse allegations

In an interview with The Mail on Sunday reported by ITV News, the 82-year-old said he had travelled to the Philippines at least twice when he was single and had paid for sex. He said he had never had sex with anyone under 18 and denied possessing child sexual abuse images. His account of paying for sex is separate from the allegations involving children, which he denies.

His son, Thomas Markle Jr, has alleged finding child sexual abuse images at their father’s former home in the Philippines. The director of the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation told the Associated Press that the FBI had sought its help in examining those allegations. The country’s interior minister said the national police was also investigating. Those inquiries are not findings that the alleged images are as described or that Markle possessed them.

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, said she was deeply distressed by the allegations. She said she had kept her father from having contact with her children to protect them. The Sun on Sunday has reported that in a letter she sent him in December 2025, she said she would not contact him again and he would not meet her children. The newspaper did not publish the letter; Meghan and her father had already been estranged since 2018.

A separate, earlier letter to London’s Metropolitan Police contained claims about alleged offending outside the UK, the force said. It received that letter in January 2019 and passed it to Harry and Meghan’s office, but did not share the allegations with other law enforcement agencies. The force is reviewing how it handled the letter and considering a referral to the police watchdog.