Miami (AFP) – The father of Meghan Markle, the American wife of Prince Harry, accused of possessing images of sexual assault of minors, was arrested on Friday in Florida, in the southeast of the United States.

Published on: 06/11/2026 - 18:26Modified on: 06/11/2026 - 18:29

Last week, police in the Philippines reported the discovery of child abuse images in a former home of Thomas Markle, 82, located in this Southeast Asian country.

He is targeted in the United States by a count of "possession of child pornography", punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, the federal prosecutor's office in the Central District of California announced in a press release on Friday, specifying that he would appear during the day in a federal court in Tampa, Florida.

Thomas Markle was arrested by agents of the FBI, the American federal police, at his retirement home in Florida. Images from British newspapers The Daily Mail and The Sun show him being taken away handcuffed in a wheelchair.

"Mr. Markle is accused of possessing depictions of sexual assault on minors, including photos showing himself in the company of underage girls," federal prosecutor Bill Essayli said, quoted in the press release.

This arrest follows the search of two storage units rented for around twenty years by the accused in the Los Angeles region, specifies the ministry, reporting the seizure of “nearly 78 objects, including slides, film negatives and books containing alleged sexual assaults on children”.

Thomas Markle lived in Mexico before settling in Cebu, Philippines, in 2025. However, it was from the United States that he rejected the accusations against him.

Searches in the Philippines and Mexico

Mexican authorities searched a storage unit rented by Thomas Markle as part of an investigation into the possession of "child pornography", the prosecutor's office in the Mexican state of Baja California told AFP on Monday.

Philippine police told AFP on Wednesday that three memory cards and a cell phone given by Thomas Markle's son contained images of sexual assault on minors.

The Sun was the first media outlet to report in October that Thomas Markle Jr., Thomas Markle's son, had discovered images of sexual assault on minors while searching through boxes found in his father's former residence.

Meghan said on October 23 that she was “deeply upset” by the accusations of possession of child abuse images targeting her father, whom she has not seen for years.

She said she was aware in 2018 of a letter sent to British police containing “disturbing allegations” regarding Mr. Markle, adding that her distancing from him had been motivated by the need to “protect” her two children.

After six years in the United States, Meghan, Prince Harry – youngest son of King Charles III – and their two children returned at the end of August to live in the United Kingdom.

The couple left the United Kingdom with a bang in 2020, against a backdrop of tensions with the royal family, of which they have no longer been active members.

© 2026 AFP

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