The Duchess of Sussex says she is “deeply distressed” over accusations involving child sexual abuse images against her estranged father, Thomas Markle snr.

Meghan issued a statement confirming that the Metropolitan police made her aware of the claims in 2018.

She described the allegations as “more sickening than one could ever imagine” and her “sincerest hope is that justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children”.

Her comments came after Britain’s Sun newspaper published claims that her half-brother Thomas Markle jnr alleged he had found a stash of images belonging to their father at his former home in the Philippines.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Markle Snr, who is 82 and lives in the US, denied the the accusations, calling them “sick lies”.

He said the computers had not been in his possession since he left Mexico with his son in 2025.

“I’m shocked, I’m hurt and I’m very upset that my son is making these accusations against me. I could never do what I’m being accused of,” he wrote.

Thomas Markle snr’s other daughter, Samantha Markle, told the Mail the allegations were untrue and her brother had made them up.

Meghan Markle made a public appearance last week, following her move to the UK with Prince Harry and their children, Archie and Lilibet. Photo: Sipa USA

The duchess wrote: “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.

“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.”

The Undersecretary for the Philippines Department of Justice, Nicholas Ty, told the BBC “the matter is currently being investigated” by an anti-human trafficking and child sexual exploitation task force in Cebu.