Thomas Markle, Meghan's father, arrested in Florida over alleged child abuse material

Mixed · 2Thomas Markle Sr, the 82-year-old father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was arrested in Florida on Friday 6 November 2026, according to law enforcement sources and multiple outlets. 1 2 Mixed · 2The Associated Press, as cited by the Independent and Evening Standard, reported he was held on charges related to child sexual abuse material and taken into custody near Tampa; the Independent said he was reportedly arrested at the Maravida Senior Living care home in Lakeland and pictured in a wheelchair being led away by FBI agents. 3 4 Mixed · 2The Daily Mail, which first reported the arrest, said a source told it he was arrested for possession of child sexual abuse material, and that the arrest came days after it alerted the FBI to a storage unit he had rented near Rosarito, Mexico. 5 2

Left · 2The case follows allegations from his son, Thomas Markle Jr, 60, who said he found child abuse images in boxes of his father's belongings at the Cebu, Philippines home and reported them to the authorities; Philippine officials said they recovered more than 7,000 images and a video from devices allegedly belonging to the elder Markle and named Markle Jr as a person of interest. 2 4 Mixed · 2A second cache was reportedly found last week when Mexican police raided a storage unit in Rosarito; the Daily Mail reported that a search warrant authorised a search for child sexual abuse material and for evidence of aggravated human trafficking, and said it was not known what is on hard drives and video tapes found there. 5 3 Left · 1Metro and the Daily Mail reported that Philippine police are 'very close' to bringing formal charges, and Metro added that the FBI was said to be preparing to search two more storage units in Los Angeles that Markle Jr alerted it to. 6

Mixed · 2Markle has denied possessing child abuse imagery and called the accusations 'sick lies' manufactured by his son, though he has admitted paying for sex in the Philippines, which he says was never with anyone under 18. 4 5 Left · 2Meghan said she was 'deeply distressed' and hopes 'justice will be fully served'; she said she first learned of 'troubling and disturbing allegations' via a letter passed through the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection, and that her distance from her father was to protect her children. 2 4 Mixed · 2The Met has admitted it never shared the letter's details with other law enforcement agencies, and the Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating the force's conduct; outlets differ on whether the letter dates from 2018 or 2019. 3 6

Left · 2The Independent reported that the US Department of Justice was expected to hold a press conference at 11 a.m. ET; no charges had been detailed by officials in the coverage reviewed, and the FBI did not immediately respond to the Los Angeles Times. 4 2