Meghan Markle’s father held in Florida over child sexual abuse materials, with more alleged images traced to his old Philippines home

Thomas Markle, 82, father of Meghan Markle, the wife of Prince Harry, was arrested in Florida on Friday and charged with possession of child pornography, officials reported. Markle is accused of owning child sexual abuse material, including photos of himself with underage girls, according to US Attorney Bill Essayli. The alleged items were seized from two storage units in Los Angeles where Markle lived, along with slides, film negatives, and books containing suspected child sexual abuse material.

Markle was taken into custody at the retirement home in Lakeland, Florida, where he resides. He is set to make his initial court appearance in Tampa on Friday.

In addition to Florida, allegations of child sexual abuse material have been traced to Markle’s former home in the Philippines and a storage unit he rented in Mexico. The Sun revealed last month that Markle's son, Thomas Markle Jr, found the images while sorting through boxes in his father's old home in the Philippines. Markle's daughter, Meghan Markle, expressed deep distress over the accusations and had previously blocked contact between her father and her children due to "troubling and disturbing" allegations.

Prince Harry, now married to Meghan, married the American actress in May 2018. The couple left the royal family in 2020 but returned to the United Kingdom with their two children in August.