EXCLUSIVE: Meghan Markle Called Herself a 'Daddy's Girl' Four Years After Police Letter About Alleged 'Child Abuser' Dad
Meghan Markle once called herself a 'Daddy's girl,' years before her estrangement from her father.
Oct. 31 2026, Published 2:00 p.m. ET
Meghan Markle described herself as a lifelong "Daddy's Girl" in a Netflix documentary – four years after she said she later learned of a letter sent to police in 2018 containing disturbing allegations about her estranged father.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the Duchess of Sussex, 45, made the affectionate remark in the 2022 series Harry & Meghan, after the reported letter concerning Thomas Markle Sr., 82, reached London's Metropolitan Police.
'I've Been A Daddy's Girl My Whole Life'
Meghan Markle called herself a lifelong 'Daddy's Girl' in a previous Netflix series.
The contrast has attracted renewed attention on the Duchess following allegations about suspected child sexual abuse material recovered from her father's former home in the Philippines.
Markle Sr. denies any wrongdoing.
Reflecting on their once-close relationship, Meghan said: "I've been a Daddy's Girl my whole life."
The remark described a childhood in which her father, a Hollywood lighting director, encouraged her ambitions, took her to dance classes and introduced her to television production.
Meghan visited him on sets and recalled how he supported her early attempts to become an actress.
In a Father's Day tribute published before their estrangement, Meghan also remembered his work lighting school musicals and helping her create a photographic darkroom at home.
She wrote at the time: "He is the person who believed in this grand dream of mine well before I could even see it as a possibility."
Wedding Rift Deepens
Meghan Markle's relationship with her father deteriorated before her 2018 wedding.
But Meghan and her dad's relationship deteriorated before her May 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, 42, after Markle Sr. arranged staged paparazzi photographs.
He missed the ceremony, citing heart problems, and subsequently gave interviews reaching out to his daughter.
The latest controversy concerns material his son, Thomas Markle Jr., 60, surrendered to police in Cebu City.
Investigators have reportedly received computers, storage devices, photographs, and books suspected of containing evidence of child sexual abuse.
Markle Sr. has rejected the accusations and alleged his son is attempting to frame him.
2018 Police Letter
Philippine DOJ's Nicholas Ty confirmed human trafficking and child exploitation probe.
His daughter has now said a letter making allegations about her father was sent to the Metropolitan Police and its Royalty and Specialist Protection Command in 2018.
Meghan said: "I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours, and my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed."
She added: "In 2018, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection. That letter was subsequently shared with me."
Meghan said she received assurances the claims were being investigated, and has linked her decision not to introduce her children to her father to concerns raised in the letter.
The Metropolitan Police said it was conducting internal inquiries to establish whether officers had been involved in passing on a letter in 2018.
A spokesperson said: "We are undertaking enquiries internally in an effort to confirm this."
Meanwhile, Nicholas Ty, an undersecretary at the Philippines Department of Justice, told the BBC that "the matter is currently being investigated" by a task force dealing with trafficking and child sexual exploitation.
Estrangement Continues
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Meghan Markle and her dad have remained estranged following previous public scandals.
Markle Sr.'s daughter Samantha has challenged her brother's accusations, accusing him of inventing them for financial gain.
In 2019, friends of Meghan said she had attempted to communicate privately with her father after the wedding, while he continued speaking publicly about their fractured relationship.
In 2019, Markle Sr. shared excerpts from a private letter she had written him, prompting a successful privacy lawsuit against the newspaper that published it. Despite repeated public appeals for reconciliation, father and daughter have remained estranged, with Markle Sr. yet to meet Harry or their children, Archie and Lilibet.
Markle Sr. has categorically denied downloading child sexual abuse material or sexually abusing anyone under 18.
Responding to the accusations, he said: "It's the worst thing anyone could accuse me of."
He added: "This is bulls---. It's just a bunch of lies. It's sick. I have no idea why Tom is trying to destroy me with these lies."
