Met Police Will Review 2019 Letter on Thomas Markle

London's Metropolitan Police confirmed on Saturday that it received a letter in 2019 containing multiple claims about Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. The force stated it forwarded the document to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their awareness. Police did not share the specific details of the allegations with other law enforcement agencies.

This confirmation follows reports from earlier in the week detailing new legal issues for Markle in the Philippines. The Sun reported on Thursday that Thomas Markle Jr., Markle's son, reported his father to authorities in the Philippines. The report alleged that child abuse materials were found in storage boxes at the family home. By Friday, reports indicated that Philippine authorities were addressing Markle over alleged possession of child sexual abuse materials. Markle denied the allegations in a report by The Daily Mail.

Meghan Markle said in a statement sent to CBS News on Friday that she was deeply distressed by the recent coverage. She said she had known of the allegations since 2018. Her statement noted that a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection in 2018. She said that letter was subsequently shared with her and made troubling allegations against her father. She added that she was given assurances the matter was being investigated.

The duchess also explained that she has kept her distance from her father to protect her children. She said she hoped it could now be understood that her decision not to allow him contact with the children had one reason: to protect them. She referenced certain media publications' distortion over the years.

A discrepancy exists between the two accounts regarding the timing of the letter. Meghan referred to 2018, while Scotland Yard confirmed 2019. A spokesman for the duchess told BBC News that any discrepancy of a few months was an understandable consequence of that passage of time.

The Metropolitan Police said it will review how the matter was handled in 2019. As part of that process, the force will decide whether to refer itself to the police watchdog.