Met to review 2019 Markle letter handling

London's Metropolitan Police confirmed on Saturday that it received a letter in 2019 containing multiple claims regarding Thomas Markle. A Scotland Yard spokesperson informed CBS News of the document's existence. The force stated that the letter was forwarded to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their awareness. The specific allegations contained within the document were not shared with other law enforcement agencies at the time.

This confirmation follows reports released earlier this week. On Thursday, The Sun reported that Markle's son, Thomas Markle Jr., reported him to authorities in the Philippines. The younger man allegedly discovered child abuse materials in storage boxes at the family home. On Friday, reports indicated that Philippine authorities were dealing with Markle over alleged possession of child sexual abuse materials. The Daily Mail reported that Markle denied these allegations on the same day.

In a statement sent to CBS News on Friday, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, described herself as deeply distressed by the reports. She stated that she had known of the allegations since 2018. According to her statement, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and the Royalty and Specialist Protection unit in 2018. She said the letter was subsequently shared with her and contained troubling and disturbing allegations against her father. She noted that she was given assurances the matter was being investigated.

The duchess explained that she kept her distance from her father to protect her children. She stated that her decision to prevent him from contacting them had one reason: to protect them. She added that this decision should now be understood despite certain media publications' distortion over the years.

The date of the letter marks the primary difference between the two accounts. Meghan referenced 2018, while Scotland Yard cited 2019. A spokesman for the duchess told BBC News that any discrepancy of a few months is an understandable consequence of the passage of time.

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