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Meghan Markle said Friday that she was “deeply disturbed” by the child porn allegations against her dad — revealing that a similar complaint was made eight years ago, explaining why she cut him off from her family.
“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,” Markle told The Post in a statement soon after news broke that her 82-year-old dad, Thomas Markle Sr., was being investigated in the Philippines.
“In 2018, a letter was sent to [London’s] Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection. That letter was subsequently shared with me,” she said of the year her father was famously a no-show at her glitzy royal wedding to Prince Harry.
“It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated.
“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.
“I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families.
“Although the breadth of what has now been uncovered is more sickening than one could ever imagine, my sincerest hope is that justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children.”
Markle did not elaborate on exactly what was contained in the 2018 letter, nor who sent it to UK police.
She also did not say if it was sent before or after her now-contentious wedding to Harry on May 19 that year.
However, the “Suits” actress had appeared happy to have her father walk her down the aisle just two weeks before her big day — until those plans were derailed in a scandal over Markle Sr. staging paparazzi photos.
He then pulled out of the wedding citing heart issues, which prompted King Charles — who was Prince of Wales at the time — to walk Markle down the aisle in his place.
The supposed child-porn hoard was uncovered by Meghan’s half-brother Thomas Markle Jr., who reportedly found “hundreds if not thousands” of images in four boxes in Markle Sr.’s home in Cebu, the Philippines.
Markle Jr., 60, then reported his father to the authorities – and also contacted the FBI who plan to launch their own investigation into Markle Sr., who is currently living in the US, the outlet reported.
Markle Sr. has vehemently denied possessing such images, branding the claims as “sick lies.” Meghan’s half-sister, Samantha Markle, told the Mail the allegations leveled against her father are “unsubstantiated.”
