A disturbing discovery inside an abandoned storage unit in Mexico has intensified allegations against Thomas Markle, the 82-year-old estranged father of Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex.
The Daily Mail reported Friday that its journalists uncovered suspected child sexual abuse material among boxes of personal belongings in a storage facility near Markle’s former home in Rosarito Beach, Mexico.
The publication said it alerted the FBI after finding photographs, magazines and other materials that raised serious concerns about the sexual exploitation of minors.
The discovery comes as authorities in the Philippines investigate separate allegations involving explicit images reportedly found among Markle’s possessions at his son’s home.
Markle has strongly denied wrongdoing.
According to the Daily Mail, receipts confirm that Markle rented the 5-by-10-foot storage unit in 2017, several years after relocating from Los Angeles to Mexico.
The unit reportedly contained approximately 20 boxes filled with photographs, books, magazines, family memorabilia and electronic equipment.
Journalists gained access after being informed that Markle had stopped making payments on the unit.
What they found prompted the publication to contact federal authorities.
Among the materials were magazines allegedly containing child sexual abuse imagery and photographs of females whose ages were not established.
Other items included photographic negatives depicting children at a beach and disturbing images involving an apparently restrained woman.
The discovery also included more than 50 videotapes, several hard drives, flash drives, cameras and older computers.
The contents of the electronic devices and videotapes remain unknown.
Some of the books reportedly contained sexualized images of minors or discussions of pedophilia. Others examined sexual exploitation from historical or investigative perspectives.
The discovery of such materials does not, by itself, establish that Markle committed a crime.
However, the findings add another dimension to allegations already being examined overseas.
Earlier this month, Markle’s son, Thomas Markle Jr., reportedly alerted Philippine police after discovering what he described as hundreds, potentially thousands, of suspected child sexual abuse images among his father’s possessions.
Those materials were allegedly found in boxes left at the younger Markle’s home in Cebu, where his father had lived after leaving Mexico in January 2025.
Philippine authorities subsequently began investigating.
A government official, Jonvic Remulla, publicly described the allegations as extremely serious and suggested that investigators were examining the possibility of significant criminal wrongdoing.
No conviction has been reported.
The younger Markle said he was horrified by what he discovered and felt compelled to notify authorities despite having previously cared for and defended his father.
“When I found this material I was horrified and I had no option but to report my dad,” he said.
He also issued an emotional apology to his estranged half-sister, Meghan.
“I’m so, so sorry Meghan,” he said, explaining that the discovery had fundamentally changed his view of their father.
Thomas Markle Sr., however, has rejected the accusations.
He previously acknowledged paying for sex in the Philippines while single but categorically denied sexual activity involving minors.
“I never had sex with anyone under the age of 18,” he said.
He also denied allegations that he had downloaded child sexual abuse images onto electronic devices.
The controversy has brought renewed attention to Markle’s long-fractured relationship with Meghan.
Their estrangement became public during preparations for her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, after Markle was accused of cooperating with a photographer to stage paparazzi photographs.
Their relationship deteriorated further in the years that followed.
Following the emergence of the latest allegations, Meghan said she had first become aware of troubling accusations involving her father in 2019, when British police contacted her.
She said she understood the allegations were being investigated and had been advised that speaking publicly could potentially interfere with legal proceedings.
The Daily Mail also reported that Markle received a letter from Meghan making clear that he would not be allowed to meet her children, Archie and Lilibet.
The publication characterized the letter as reflecting allegations of past abuse, although those allegations remain disputed.
Markle is currently recovering at a rehabilitation facility in central Florida after undergoing a leg amputation while living in the Philippines.
The newspaper said it attempted to contact him several times regarding the Mexican storage unit but received no response.
His daughter Samantha Markle did not personally comment when reporters approached her Florida residence.
Her boyfriend, Mark Phillips, disputed the allegations and questioned whether investigators could establish ownership or criminal responsibility for the materials.
Questions also remain about when the items were placed in storage, who had access to them and whether any of the electronic devices contain illegal material.
Those matters would require further investigation.
For now, the allegations against Markle have expanded across two countries, with reported discoveries in Mexico following an investigation already underway in the Philippines.
The Daily Mail’s decision to notify the FBI could bring additional scrutiny to the materials found near his former residence.
Markle has denied wrongdoing, and the information provided does not establish that he has been charged or convicted.
But the reported discoveries have placed the Duchess of Sussex’s estranged father at the center of an increasingly serious international controversy involving suspected child sexual abuse material.
