A letter reporting alleged child abuse by the Duchess of Sussex's estranged father to the Metropolitan Police was sent by his first wife, it has been reported.
Roslyn Loveless, who was married to Thomas Markle from 1964 to 1975, sent the letter detailing allegations against him in 2019, the New York Post claimed.
Last night Mr Markle told The Mail on Sunday he did not believe that Ms Loveless – who died in 2024 – had sent the letter and said he felt the story was 'a set-up'.
Reacting to the idea that the letter may have been sent by his first wife, Mr Markle said: 'This shocks me. I'm not buying it. Roslyn and I broke up years ago but I was good to her in the divorce.
'I find it hard to believe she would write a letter like that. She was a really bad alcoholic. It's really sad but she would never have written something like that letter without someone making suggestions to her. She had really bad alcohol problems for years.
'I feel like this is a set up. I would like to see the letter Roslyn wrote. Roslyn and I were fine. She's dead so she can't speak out for herself. Why is this all coming out now? Why is my son trying to destroy me? Why is Meghan dumping on me?'
He said Ms Loveless cooperated with a 'really negative' story about him but he did not believe she would accuse him of being a paedophile.
'My first wife and I had an OK relationship for many years because of our kids. I don't believe she would say bad things about me. She's not around to defend herself. I think this was something that was maybe put in place to discredit me after my death. I'm alive and I am calling b*******.'
Roslyn Loveless, the first wife of Meghan Markle's estranged father Thomas, penned the letter which alerted police to allegations against him in 2019, it has been reported
Mr Markle faces child sex allegations which he denies and told The Mail on Sunday he was 'not buying' the idea that his first wife, who died two years ago, wrote the letter
The 82-year-old last night confessed to this newspaper that he paid for sex in the Philippines but denied sleeping with underage girls.
And he vowed to 'do whatever it takes' to clear his name after being accused of sickening child sex crimes.
Authorities in the Philippines are investigating the former Hollywood lighting technician for allegedly hoarding child sex images.
It came as the Met faced questions over why it sat on the letter raising the alarm over the allegations against Mr Markle for more than seven years.
Meghan initially said she learned of the allegations in 2018 from the letter, which was passed to her by Met detectives, but the force has since said it actually alerted her a year later.
The duchess said she had been 'given assurances' that the allegations were being investigated.
She added the allegations against her father were 'more sickening than one could ever imagine', adding: 'My thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed.'
Mr Markle has strongly denied the allegations against him since The Sun revealed he was being investigated in the Philippines.
Child sex images reportedly held by Mr Markle were turned over to police last week by his son, Thomas Markle Jr.
The son claimed that he found child abuse images on computers his father left behind in the Philippines when he returned to the US earlier this year.
Mr Markle Jr told The Sun: 'When I found this material, I was horrified and I had no option but to report my dad. I have supported, cared for him and helped him for years, but that stops now. I won't speak to my father ever again unless I'm called to give evidence against him.'
Mr Markle, pictured with nurse Rio Canedo, is the subject of a child sex investigation after being reported to police by his son
Thomas Markle Jr, Meghan's half-brother, claimed to have found the child abuse material packed up in boxes at his father's Philippines home
Speaking to the Daily Mail on Friday Mr Markle called the allegations against him 'sick lies' and said he was 'very upset that my son is making these allegations against me'.
Meghan's half-sister Samantha, who is Mr Markle's main caregiver, also defended their father and accused her brother of fabricating the allegations for financial gain.
She told the Mail this week: 'There is no merit in these disgusting allegations whatsoever and my brother is disgusting for making them up. He wants to destroy our dad. Shame on him.'
Mr Markle and Ms Loveless shared Samantha, 61, and Thomas Jr, 60, before he fathered the now-duchess with Doria Ragland in 1981.
He was married to Meghan's mother from 1979 to 1987, with the couple separating when their daughter was around two years old.
Days after Prince Archie's birth in May 2019, Ms Loveless described her ex-husband as an 'awful father' who should never be allowed to meet his grandson.
She said Meghan 'would be a fool to have him in her life' and added: 'Repeatedly he has shown to Meghan he cannot be trusted. She must know that now. I speak not out of bitterness, my life moved on many years ago, but out of concern.
'Archie deserves to be brought up in a happy home, not in this vengeful situation that has been created. Tom was an awful father. What makes him think he'd be a great grandfather to Archie?'
At the time Mr Markle dismissed his ex-wife's comments as 'not valid'.
- READ MORE: Meghan Markle's father Thomas makes a stark confession: 'I paid for sex in Far East, but I'm no child abuser'
- READ MORE: Metropolitan Police under fire for failing to alert FBI over 'disturbing' claims about Thomas Markle
- READ MORE: Thomas Markle and his son tried for fresh start in Philippines after years of furious bust-ups
- READ MORE: SARAH VINE: The notion someone who played a pivotal role in your life could have a very dark side is genuinely traumatic. For once, Meghan has my sympathies