Thomas Markle charged by FBI in Florida

The Duchess of Sussex's father, Thomas Markle Snr, has been charged by the FBI in Florida over child sexual abuse material.

He is being investigated by police in the Philippines over claims that he kept child sexual abuse images at his home.

Pictures in US media showed Markle Snr being taken away in a wheelchair by the FBI.

The US Attorney's Office said in a statement: "A Florida man was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint alleging he kept child sexual abuse material (CSAM), including sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls, in two Los Angeles-area storage units he rented for nearly two decades.

"Thomas Wayne Markle, 82, of Lakeland, Florida, is charged with one count of possession of child pornography."

The statement adds that "FBI special agents searched two storage units registered to Markle".

It says: "Markle has rented both storage units since 2008, with his most recent payments on both made last month by auto-pay.

"Inside the units, agents seized approximately 78 items, including slides, film negatives, and books that contained suspected CSAM. The affidavit describes three of those images. Two images depict an adult man - whom a witness identified as Markle - with a nude prepubescent girl."

Markle is expected to make his initial appearance today in court in the Middle District of Florida in Tampa, according to the statement.

Last week, police in the Philippines were handed a warrant by a court to start examining digital material.

The material, including devices and hard drives, was handed to the police by Thomas Markle's son, Thomas Markle Jr.

Thomas Markle Snr denies all the allegations.

It was reported by The Sun that Meghan's half-brother alleged he found a stash of images belonging to his father at his former home in the Philippines.

The report added that he also contacted the FBI in the US in July.

Markle Snr moved to the Philippines in 2025 after suffering a series of strokes.

He is now reportedly living in a rehabilitation centre in Florida.

Meghan's half-brother has been named as a "person of interest" in an investigation into child sexual abuse image allegations against Markle Snr.

Meghan recently said she was "deeply distressed" by allegations that a collection of child sexual abuse images had been found at her father's former home.

She also said that a letter containing "troubling allegations" about him had been sent to London police in 2018.

"It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated," Meghan said of the letter.

"I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications' distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children was for one reason: to protect them."

Mr Markle Jr has been approached for comment by Sky News on being named as a "person of interest" and the Sussexes declined to comment.

(c) Sky News 2026: Thomas Markle charged by FBI in Florida