The Metropolitan Police has confirmed it received a letter in January 2019 containing allegations of offending outside the UK concerning Thomas Markle Sr, then passed it to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The force’s acknowledgement addresses whether such a letter existed, but opens fresh questions about why its contents were not shared more widely.

The Met said the letter had reached its Protection Command because it raised concerns relating to the Duchess of Sussex’s security. After a review, it decided the Sussexes’ office should be informed “for their awareness”; however, it said the allegations “were not shared with other law enforcement agencies.” The force is now reviewing its 2019 handling of the matter and considering a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.¹

That official timeline differs by several months from Meghan’s public recollection that she had been shown information about the allegations in 2018. Her spokesperson did not challenge the Met’s records, saying that, without a diary entry or contemporaneous record, she may have been “mistaken by a few months” and that a time-stamped police record should be treated as accurate.²

Meghan has linked her decision to keep her father apart from her children to what she described as disturbing allegations and to a wish to protect them. The Met’s statement does not say it investigated the underlying claims; its review is focused on how the letter was handled.

Separate authorities in the Philippines are investigating allegations involving Thomas Markle Sr, who has not been charged. He has denied wrongdoing, saying he was “shocked” and “hurt” by the accusations and that he could never do what he was alleged to have done.³

The accounts therefore converge on one central point: the Met received and forwarded the letter. They diverge over the timing recalled by Meghan and, more importantly, over what action should have followed once the claims reached police.