Meghan Markle Deeply Distressed Over Investigation Into Father Thomas Markle

Metropolitan Police Reviewing 2019 Letter Handling

London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed that the force received a letter in January 2019 containing “a number of claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom,” according to the BBC and the ABC. The document was directed to the protection command because of concerns about the duchess’s security, abc.net.au reported.

The force is reviewing how it handled the matter and considering whether to refer itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, yahoo.com noted.

Duchess of Sussex Defends Family Distance

In a statement through her spokesperson, Meghan Markle said that she was first made aware of the claims by the Met Police in 2018. She indicated that she was given assurances at the time that these were being investigated.

The duchess stated that her choice to maintain distance from her father and to not allow him to have contact with her children was to protect them. A spokesperson for the duchess noted that "any discrepancy of a few months" was "an understandable consequence of that passage of time," yahoo.com reported.

Active Investigations Span Multiple Countries

Authorities in the Philippines are investigating, and Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said national police had secured Markle’s computer for a forensic examination, according to yahoo.com. Meanwhile, an FBI spokesperson in the United States stated that the agency is "aware of the allegations and would provide support, as appropriate, to the Philippine authorities," abc.net.au reported.