Meghan Markle speaks out following father's indecent image allegations

Meghan Markle has broken her silence and spoken out following accusations made against her father, Thomas Markle Snr, which allege he kept child abuse images at his home.

The Duchess of Sussex's revealed she was first made aware of the disturbing claims against Markle by London's Metropolitan Police Service back in 2018 - the same year she wed Prince Harry.

The 45-year-old's brother, Thomas Markle Jnr, alleged that he had found a stash of images belonging to her father at his former home in the Philippines.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Thomas Snr denied possessing child sex images, calling the accusations 'sick lies'.

In a statement issued to the Press Association, Meghan said: “I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours, and my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed.

“In 2018, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection. That letter was subsequently shared with me.

“It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated.

“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.

“I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families.

“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.”

Meghan and Harry have continuously refused to allow him to meet their two young children, seven-year-old Prince Archie and five-year-old Princess Lilibet.

The Californian has been estranged with her dad since her 2018 wedding, following controversy over staged paparazzi photographs and tabloid leaks.

During a 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Duchess opened up about her relationship with her dad and his betrayal in choosing to speak with British tabloids about her and their relationship.

"There was such an obsession about anything in my world, including tracking down my parents. And I did everything I could to protect both of them in that media frenzy," she said.

"But for over a year, the UK tabloids were trying to find my dad, offering people so much money to try to find his address. Once they did, I remember being told there was a huge headline like, 'We found him' or 'We've got him.' You're talking about someone's father. And from that point, the tabloids, they moved into the apartment next door and across from him. Descended on this small town, which is giving him gifts. The whole thing brings us to where we are today."

He eventually spoke to the tabloids about his daughter but lied to her when she asked if he had.

"If we were going to use the word betrayal, it's because when I asked him," she explained, that he said 'absolutely not'.

LADbible Group has reached out to Meghan Markle's representatives for comment, as well as London's Metropolitan Police Service.

More to follow.