Piers Morgan responded to Meghan Markle‘s statement about the ongoing criminal investigation into her father, questioning, “Why did she not go public to protect others?”
On Thursday, it was reported that Markle’s estranged father Thomas is under investigation over claims by his son alleging that he kept child abuse imagery in their shared home in the Philippines. Speaking with The Sun Thursday, Thomas Markle Jr. said he was “horrified” by what he had found and felt he had “no option” but to report his father to the local police.
In a statement Friday, Meghan claimed to have first learned of “disturbing” allegations about her father in 2018 when a letter was sent to London’s Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection division. Markle said the letter contained “troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated.”
“I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours,” she said. “My thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed.”
On Friday, Morgan took to X to lament the “shocking” news. He also questioned why it has taken this long for a criminal investigation into Markle’s father to be opened if disturbing allegations were already being made in 2018.
“This Thomas Markle story is shocking, and if guilty, he must face full force of the law. But it raises a lot of questions,” Morgan wrote. “If police alerted Meghan in 2018 to allegations so serious she ended all contact, why was he not arrested? And why did she not go public to protect others?”
In her statement today, Markle did not offer any details about the claims that were made against her father in 2018 but said they were part of the reason why she severed her relationship with him. She pointed specifically to her desire to protect her and husband Prince Harry’s two children, 7-year-old Archie and 5-year-old Lilibet.
“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,” Markle said in her statement.
“I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families,” she added. “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 Philippines Department of Justice has confirmed that it is actively investigating the claims against Thomas Markle. In an interview with the Daily Mail published Friday, he denied the allegations against him.
“I’m very upset that my son is making these accusations against me,” he told the Daily Mail. “I could never do what I’m being accused of. It’s the worst thing anyone could accuse me of.”
Markle’s estranged relationship with her father has been the subject of widespread debate, scrutiny and speculation ever since 2018 when it was announced that he would not be attending her and Prince Harry’s wedding.
