Thomas Markle Sr, father of the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, has been charged in Florida with one count of possessing child sexual abuse material. The case includes the reported seizure of about 78 items from two Los Angeles storage units he had rented for years.

When Markle was taken into custody is disputed. The Standard reported that FBI agents detained him on Thursday, November 5, 2026. The Greek news site IEidiseis, Romanian outlet Stiripesurse and Brazilian outlet Metropoles dated his arrest to Friday, November 6. The Standard said he was expected to appear in court in Tampa on Friday; whether that hearing took place has not been reported.

What the FBI seized

The Standard reported that FBI agents searched the two Los Angeles units under warrants. Markle had rented them since 2008, and agents seized about 78 items, including slides, film negatives and books containing suspected child sexual abuse material.

Court documents cited by The Standard say two images allegedly showed an adult man, whom a witness identified as Markle, with a nude young girl. Another allegedly showed a nude girl in a room resembling part of a motel chain in the Philippines. Other photographs were said to show Markle with children in various states of undress. These are allegations in a criminal case, not findings of guilt.

Bill Essayli, first assistant US attorney, said Markle was accused of possessing material that included photographs depicting himself with minor girls. Essayli said prosecutors would pursue the case under federal law.

How the investigation developed

Markle’s son, Thomas Markle Jr, reportedly told authorities he found suspected images among his father’s belongings in Cebu City, in the Philippines. The Standard reported that he also alerted the FBI to the Los Angeles storage units. Metropoles reported that Philippine police confirmed finding material at Markle’s Cebu home on November 3.

The accounts connect the reported discovery in Cebu with the US search, but do not establish how investigators linked particular items or images across the locations. Other reports have also referred to a storage site in Mexico, without detailing what was seized there.

Markle has denied possessing child sexual abuse material. He has also denied having sex with minors, while previously acknowledging that he paid for sex with adult women in the Philippines.

Meghan Markle’s response and the unresolved questions

Meghan Markle said she was deeply distressed by the allegations and was thinking of children who may have been abused. The Standard reported that she had been estranged from her father since the run-up to her 2018 wedding.

The case also comes amid a separate dispute over how police handled earlier information. The Standard reported that Meghan received a 2019 letter through the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection containing allegations about her father. The Metropolitan Police acknowledged it did not share the details with other law-enforcement agencies, and the Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating the force’s conduct.

The central questions remain whether the alleged material can be established as evidence and what will happen in court. The available accounts do not confirm the date of Markle’s first appearance or its outcome.