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Ongoing story / Thomas Markle

The child sexual abuse image charges against Meghan's father, Thomas Markle

Overview · reviewed November 14, 2026

Thomas Markle, the 82-year-old estranged father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was arrested in Florida in November 2026 on federal charges of possessing child sexual abuse material, weeks after The Sun reported the allegations.[1][2] Philippine authorities named his son, Thomas Markle Jr., a person of interest but not a suspect in their own inquiry.[3]

Read the timeline

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Philippine authorities named his son, Thomas Markle Jr., a person of interest but not a suspect in their own inquiry.[3]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2026-10-19 (UTC): 8%, 38 of 479 tracked outlets (7 left, 23 center, 8 right)Week of 2026-10-26 (UTC): under 1%, 2 of 473 tracked outlets (0 left, 1 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-11-02 (UTC): 13%, 60 of 471 tracked outlets (16 left, 30 center, 14 right)Week of 2026-11-09 (UTC): 9%, 44 of 473 tracked outlets (9 left, 27 center, 8 right), so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 8 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (4 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Nov 9, 2026 (so far)927844 of 4739%
Nov 2, 202616301460 of 47113%
Oct 26, 20260112 of 473under 1%
Oct 19, 2026723838 of 4798%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Nov 9, 2026 · first reported · Headline from KYMA Yuma

    Thomas Markle back in custody after allegedly cutting off ankle monitor

Background

The Sun reported in October that child sexual abuse images had allegedly been found in Markle's former home in the Philippines.[2] Meghan said she was "deeply distressed," and London's Metropolitan Police confirmed that it had given her a letter in 2019 about alleged offending by her father but had not passed the claims to other agencies.[2] The US Attorney's Office announced his arrest in Lakeland, Florida,[1] and Philippine Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said there were "indications" that Markle Jr., 60, might also be involved.[3] Days after his arrest, prosecutors said he had cut off his electronic ankle monitor and asked a judge to revoke his release,[4] and a federal judge ordered a psychiatric evaluation to determine whether he was mentally fit to face the charges.[5]

Supporting stories (5)
  1. Meghan’s estranged father arrested, charged with possessing child sexual abuse materials
  2. Duchess Meghan confronted dad over child abuse claims last year
  3. Meghan Markle’s half-brother a ‘person of interest’ in Thomas Markle Sr.’s child porn investigation
  4. Thomas Markle, father of Meghan, cut off his ankle monitor, DOJ says
  5. Judge orders psychiatric exam for Thomas Markle, father of Meghan, in child pornography case

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 5 recorded updates

November 2026

  1. Thomas Markle, father of Meghan, cut off his ankle monitor, DOJ saysHeadline from NBC New York · 38 outlets
  2. Judge orders psychiatric exam for Thomas Markle, father of Meghan, in child pornography caseHeadline from KESQ Palm Springs · 9 outlets
  3. Meghan Markle’s half-brother a ‘person of interest’ in Thomas Markle Sr.’s child porn investigationHeadline from New York Post · 5 outlets
  4. Meghan’s estranged father arrested, charged with possessing child sexual abuse materialsHeadline from Philadelphia Inquirer · 66 outlets

October 2026

  1. Duchess Meghan confronted dad over child abuse claims last yearHeadline from CBS News · 44 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →