Met Police referred to watchdog over letter about Meghan's father

The Metropolitan Police has referred itself to the police complaints watchdog over its handling of a letter containing allegations against Thomas Markle. The letter, written by Mr Markle's first wife Roslyn Loveless, was passed to his daughter, the Duchess of Sussex, in 2019.

The force has voluntarily referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) "in respect of the decision not to inform other law enforcement agencies, and the decision to pass the letter to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex," the Met stated. The letter, sent to the Met's royal protection team by Ms Loveless, who divorced Thomas Markle in 1975 and died in 2024, is believed to have contained claims about Mr Markle. The Duchess of Sussex stated last week that the letter had "made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father."

Read Next in Harrow News London3 min read

Rothbury Estate bought for £30m after public appeal

The Wildlife Trusts and Northumberland Wildlife Trust secured the 9,500-acre site with significant public and lottery funding.

Letter's Contents and Handling

The handwritten letter was forwarded to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their awareness, according to Scotland Yard. The Met added that the letter did not contain information specifically related to security matters but did include claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom. An initial review by the Met in recent days led to the voluntary referral to the IOPC.

The IOPC will consider why the Met did not share the letter's contents with other law enforcement agencies, both in the UK and overseas, given the claims of alleged offences. Reports suggest the Met did not retain a copy of the letter and had to obtain one from the Sussexes.

Related Borough Coverage3 min read

Visible mending trend takes off with major fashion brands

From catwalks to high street, decorative repairs are becoming a mainstream fashion statement.

Jim Gamble, former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he would have expected police to share such warnings. "If you get information that comes to you about someone from a foreign jurisdiction who represents a threat to children, there's a well-worn path and generally you'd expect a UK police force to share that information," Mr Gamble said. "I would have expected the Metropolitan Police to have gone to the FBI to say, 'Look, this isn't proven, it's an allegation, you might want to look at it.'"

Noel Rasmussen, Thomas Markle's granddaughter and niece of the Duchess of Sussex, expressed concern. "If allegations of this seriousness were brought to the attention of authorities, it is reasonable to ask what steps were taken, why the information was not shared with other law enforcement agencies," she told the BBC. "I believe those questions deserve clear, transparent answers."

Philippine Investigation

Reports of the Met's handling of the letter emerged as Thomas Markle's son informed police in the Philippines about material alleged to contain sexual images of children, which he claimed to have found in possessions belonging to his father. Thomas Markle was in the Philippines in December 2025 for hospital treatment when his daughter wrote to him to end all contact. Authorities in the Philippines have begun investigating these claims. Philippine Police have obtained a warrant to examine devices seized from Mr Markle's former home. Four boxes of material, including computers, phones, hard drives and old videotapes, were handed to police by Meghan's half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, last week. Officers in Cebu required a court warrant before examining the items.

Thomas Markle Sr has strongly denied all allegations against him. His daughter Samantha has dismissed the claims against her father as "fake".