The key facts
- The IOPC is investigating the Metropolitan Police's 'failure to pass on allegations of serious offences to the appropriate overseas authorities'
- The letter from Thomas Markle's first wife was passed to Meghan in January 2019
- Philippine police obtained a court order to examine devices seized from Markle's former home
Internal review over a 2019 letter
Britain's independent police watchdog (IOPC) has launched an investigation into London's Metropolitan Police over a letter containing allegations against Thomas Markle, the father of the Duchess of Sussex. According to BBC News, the police voluntarily referred themselves for review on Thursday. The subject of the investigation is described as the 'failure to pass on allegations of serious offences... to the appropriate overseas authorities at the time'.
What is known about the letter
The letter in question is a handwritten one sent in 2019 to the royal protection team of the police by Thomas Markle's first wife Roslyn Loveless — they divorced in 1975, and she died in 2024. In January 2019 the letter was passed not to Meghan personally, but to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Last week the Duchess said the letter contained 'alarming and disturbing allegations' against her father, and that it gave her sufficient grounds not to visit him or allow him to see his grandchildren Archie and Lilibet. She did not disclose the details of the allegations. Scotland Yard confirmed that the letter contained allegations of offences outside the United Kingdom.
The essence of the watchdog's concerns
The IOPC will establish why the police did not share the contents of the letter with other law enforcement agencies — neither in the UK nor abroad. According to the BBC, there are reports that the police did not retain a copy of the letter and had to request one from the Sussexes. A separate case concerning an alleged data leak to a third party was returned by the watchdog to the police itself 'for proper investigation'; the circumstances are not being disclosed. Thomas Markle's granddaughter Noelle Rasmussen previously told the BBC that she was 'deeply concerned by the questions surrounding the Metropolitan Police's handling of the information it received'. The police said they intend to send the materials 'to the appropriate overseas law enforcement agencies' in the coming days.
Parallel investigation in the Philippines
News of the police action came against the backdrop of another inquiry: Thomas Markle's son reported to police in the Philippines materials which, he claimed, contained sexual images of children and which he said he had found among his father's belongings. According to the BBC, Cebu police obtained a court order to examine four boxes of materials — computers, phones, hard drives and old video cassettes — handed over by Meghan's half-brother Thomas Markle Jr. Thomas Markle Sr firmly denies all the allegations, calling them 'sick lies'; his daughter Samantha described the claims as a 'hoax'. Meghan herself previously said she learned of the 'alarming allegations' against her father back in 2018, and in December 2025, while he was being treated in a hospital in the Philippines, she wrote to him, severing all contact.
Image source, PA The Met gave the letter to Meghan in 2019, but didn't share with other law enforcement agencies
