Thomas Markle reveals he has dementia and says he can’t remember Meghan’s letter

Thomas Markle is accused of having a collection of child abuse images (Picture: GMB)

Meghan Markle’s estranged father says he has been diagnosed with dementia after he was accused of child sexual abuse.

Thomas Markle is under investigation by Filipino authorities over allegations he kept a hoard of ‘hundreds,if not thousands’ of child abuse images at his home in the south-east Asian country.

But in an interview with the Mail on Sunday,he denied any wrongdoing and said he would fully cooperate with police in the US or Philippines if they wished to speak with him.

He also authorised the publication to disclose his diagnosis and said he cannot remember the contents of a letter Meghan sent him in 2025 which,according to the Sun on Sunday,said she ‘knew he was an abuser’ and that he would never meet his grandchildren.

He said: ‘I remember getting the letter but I don’t remember anything else about it.’

Markle Sr has admitted paying for sex workers in the Philippines,but says he never slept with anyone under the age of 18.

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Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.The 82-year-old former lighting technician told the outlet: ‘I like Asian women but that is not a crime.’Addressing one allegation in particular – that a picture in his collection shows a man resembling him having sex with a young girl – he said: ‘I have never been in a photograph like that.’Of the images said to have been found,he said: ‘I have not had my computer or phones for nearly two years. If there is anything bad on there it was put there by someone else.’The Duchess and Duke of Sussex on their visit to the UK earlier this month (Picture: Farrell/Stephen Crawshaw/BACKGRID)He also questioned why his daughter Meghan,who cut him off in 2018,did not try to make contact to allow him to defend himself when she learned of a letter sent to the Metropolitan Police containing allegations.Markle Sr was reported to the police by his son Thomas Jr,60,who said he discovered the images while caring for his ailing father in the Philippines.On Friday,the Duchess of Sussex said she was ‘deeply distressed’ by the allegations and her thoughts were with ‘any children who may have been harmed’.She said: ‘‘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.’Meghan also no longer speaks to Thomas Jr or his sister Samantha,who are her half-siblings from Markle Sr’s previous marriage with Roslyn Loveless.A report in the New York Post and Page Six claims Loveless was behind the letter to the Met which led to the duchess cutting off her father after her marriage to Prince Harry.Loveless,who was married to Markle Sr before Meghan was born,died in 2024.Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at .For more stories like this,check our news page.