TodayUpdated Oct 23, 4:48pm ET

Meghan Markle Responds To Abuse-Image Allegations

Meghan says she is deeply distressed by abuse-image allegations against her estranged father.

Leans Right22% left25% center53% right

· 22 sources

What happened

Thomas Markle Jr. says he found a large collection of suspected child sexual abuse images and videos among belongings at his father’s former home in Cebu, Philippines. He says he reported the discovery to authorities. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has said she kept her father from contacting her children to protect them, during an estrangement that began in 2018. Meghan said she was deeply distressed and said a 2018 letter to London police contained troubling allegations about her father. Thomas Markle Sr. denied possessing the material and called his son’s accusations lies. Samantha Markle said her brother’s claims had no merit. Philippine authorities confirmed the allegations are under investigation. No charges have been publicly announced.

How each side covered it

From the left

Left-leaning outlets framed the case around Meghan’s protective estrangement and the possible harm to children, not royal-family spectacle. The Guardian cast her past distance from her father as rooted in deeper fears, pushing back on abandonment narratives. CNN kept Meghan’s concern for potentially harmed children at the center by citing her own words.

From the right

Right-leaning outlets treated the allegations as a family exposé, while stressing that the claims remain contested. The New York Post leaned into the shock of a hidden alleged cache and linked the story to Meghan’s cutoff from her father. The Daily Mail emphasized uncertainty, including family denials and unresolved questions about earlier police involvement.

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