BBC reports the letter to London police with allegations against Meghan Markle's father was written by his ex-wife

The author of the letter has been identified

The letter sent in 2019 to the Metropolitan Police (Met Police), which contained a number of claims regarding the father of the Duchess of Sussex, was written by Roslyn Loveless, the former wife of Thomas Markle. This is according to information held by BBC News. Loveless, the mother of Meghan's half-siblings Samantha Markle and Thomas Markle Jr., divorced Markle in 1975 and later died. Markle himself, who is 82, lives in the United States and denies all the allegations made against him.

What is known about the allegations

According to media reports, images of child sexual abuse were found in Markle's former home in the Philippines, which are believed to have belonged to him. On Friday his half-brother Thomas Markle Jr. told The Sun that he had found a stash of such material in his father's former home; he said he had reported it to the police and apologised to Meghan, admitting that he had 'spent nine years defending the wrong person'. As the BBC notes, he contacted the FBI back in July; the bureau confirmed it was aware of the allegations. Philippine authorities told the BBC that a special task force against human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children is investigating the case.

Meghan's reaction and the police

In a statement issued on Friday, Meghan Markle confirmed the existence of the letter and wrote that she was 'deeply shaken' and that her thoughts were 'with any children who may have been harmed'. She explained why she had almost completely cut off contact with her father and 'did not allow him to be around our children'. According to the BBC, the Duchess cut off contact with her father last year, telling him that she and the authorities knew he had abused young girls; sources close to the Duchess add that she warned Markle in a letter — sent while he was in a Philippine hospital after having a leg amputated — that he would never see his grandchildren. Meghan has been estranged from her father since 2018. Meanwhile, Scotland Yard confirmed that it received the letter in 2019 and passed it on to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at the time, but did not forward its contents to other law enforcement agencies; the police are reviewing how this report was handled.

The situation around Markle

Thomas Markle himself, in an interview with the Mail on Sunday, admitted that on past trips he had paid for sex in the Philippines, but denied any involvement with minors and any possession of such images. He moved to the Philippines last year after a series of strokes and, according to reports, is now undergoing rehabilitation in Florida, relearning to walk after the amputation of his legEditorial note: the case spans several jurisdictions at once — the United States, the United Kingdom and the Philippines — and the key practical question now is why the London police did not pass the materials to other agencies in 2019; it is precisely this aspect that the force is reviewing. So far none of the allegations has been proven in court, and it would be premature to draw conclusions about guilt.

Image source, ITV/Shutterstock

Image source, UNKNOWN