Meghan Markle Says She Cut Off Her Father in 2018 Over Child Porn Allegations: "To Protect Them"

Meghan Markle is offering a new explanation for one of the most covered family rifts of the last decade. In a statement Friday, the Duchess of Sussex said she severed contact with her father, Thomas Markle, in 2018 after police showed her a letter sent to the Metropolitan Police and the Royalty and Specialist Protection unit containing child porn allegations against him. She said she was told the claims were under investigation at the time.

According to Meghan, the estrangement was never about the tabloid narrative. She says she distanced herself and barred her father from contact with her two children for one reason: to protect them.“I hope justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children,”she said in the statement. The news of the child porn probe involving Thomas Markle became public Friday, and the story is still developing.

The statement lands years into a very public family feud that has been covered heavily by the British tabloids. For listeners, it’s a reminder that headlines rarely tell the whole story, and allegations still have to play out through the legal process. What do you think about how this story has been covered up to now? Sound off in the comments.