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WARNING: This article contains details of abuse
The father of Prince Harry’s wife, Meghan, was arrested Friday morning by U.S. federal agents at a senior care facility in Florida on charges related to child sexual abuse material.
Thomas Wayne Markle, 82, of Lakeland, Fla., is charged with one count of possession of child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Central District of California.
In a statement, it said Markle was arrested on a federal criminal complaint alleging he kept child sexual abuse material, including sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls, in two Los Angeles-area storage units he rented for nearly two decades.
It says agents seized approximately 78 items, including two images that depict an adult man — whom a witness identified as Markle — with a nude prepubescent girl.
“Mr. Markle allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions,” said FBI Director Kash Patel in a statement, indicating the FBI is still investigating this matter.
Patel also thanked FBI partners in Mexico, Manila and the Marshall Islands law enforcement attachés, who aided the investigation.
This image taken on Sunday shows the entrance to a storage facility where Mexican authorities seized a storage unit with belongings of Thomas Markle during a search for alleged child sexual abuse material, on the outskirts of Tijuana, Mexico. (Guillermo Arias/AFP/Getty Images)
Thomas Markle Jr. involvement
The statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office appears to confirm reports by the Sun, a British tabloid, that Meghan’s half-brother found a collection of child sexual abuse images while clearing out their father’s home in the Philippines.
“According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, in October 2026, law enforcement learned that an individual signed an affidavit regarding their discovery of suspected [child sexual abuse material] among Markle’s possessions in the Philippines,” the statement said. “Information from the first individual later led agents to a second unit.”
Philippine Interior Minister Jonvic Remulla told reporters on Friday that Thomas Markle Jr. is also being investigated.
“We have a witness saying that underage girls were being brought to his house and we’re following it up. We are looking into whether the 60-year-old son, Thomas Markle Jr., was involved in the crime,” said Remulla. “To accuse the father is only half the police work.”
Thomas Markle Sr. was not at his daughter Meghan’s wedding to Prince Harry in 2018. (Phil Noble/Reuters)
Meghan estranged from father
There was no immediate comment from Meghan’s representatives on Friday.
Meghan Markle recently said she was “deeply distressed” by the allegations. She also revealed that a letter containing “troubling allegations” about him had been sent to London police in 2019.
“It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated,” Meghan said of the letter.
“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.”
Thomas Markle Sr. has been charged with one count of possession of child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. He was arrested by federal agents outside Tampa, Fla., on Nov. 6.
Meghan, an American citizen who starred in the U.S. television drama Suits, married Harry at Windsor Castle in 2018. They have two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
Her father, a retired television lighting and photography director, did not attend the wedding, prompting extensive coverage in the British media of Meghan’s estrangement from her father.
Thomas Markle appeared in federal court in Tampa, Fla. on Friday and was released on condition he be electronically monitored.
Court hearings will eventually move to California “but likely won’t happen for several weeks at least,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles said.
If convicted, Markle would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
If you’re in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911. For support in your area, you can look for crisis lines and local services via the Ending Sexual Violence Association of Canada database.
