{
  "id": 16205198,
  "title": "Why I kept my children away from my father – Meghan",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/23/why-i-kept-my-children-away-from-my-father-meghan",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-23T17:24:52.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch",
    "slug": "punch",
    "url": "https://punchng.com/2281111-2/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, has revealed her reasoning behind keeping her children away from her estranged father, Thomas Markle, following disturbing allegations she discovered in 2018. The allegations, which reported the presence of child sexual abuse imagery at Thomas Markle's former home in the Philippines, led to a letter being sent to the Metropolitan Police. In a statement, Meghan expressed deep distress over the news and emphasized the importance of protecting her children. She clarified that the decision to maintain distance from her father was to shield them from potential harm. The investigation is under the jurisdiction of an anti-human trafficking and child sexual exploitation task force in Cebu, Philippines. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police is conducting an internal inquiry into whether its royal protection unit improperly passed the 2018 letter to Meghan. Thomas Markle, 82, has denied possessing the alleged images. The investigation into the allegations is ongoing.",
  "summary": "The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, has explained why she kept her children away from her estranged father, Thomas Markle, saying her decision was taken to protect them following disturbing allegations she learnt about in 2018. As reported by the BBC on Friday, Meghan disclosed in a statement following reports that images of child sexual Read More: https://punchng.com/2281111-2/",
  "key_points": [
    "Duchess of Sussex kept children away from estranged father Thomas Markle.",
    "Allegations of child sexual abuse imagery at Thomas Markle's former home in the Philippines.",
    "Investigation ongoing by anti-human trafficking task force and internal police inquiry."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Prioritizing maternal protection over familial ties marks a shift toward absolute boundaries as the Duchess seeks to shield her children from the fallout of serious criminal allegations.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}