Wire reporting: (PA, via The Guardian)

London's Metropolitan Police said Thursday it had voluntarily referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct over how it handled a 2019 letter that contained allegations about Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex^1,2,3.

The force said the referral covers two decisions: not telling other law enforcement agencies about the letter, and passing it to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex^1,2.

Scotland Yard said it received the letter in January 2019, addressed to its protection command^1,2. The BBC identified the author as Roslyn Loveless, Markle's first wife, who died in 2024¹.

The Met said the letter suggested security concerns about the duchess but "did not actually contain any information specifically related to security matters," while alleging offending outside the United Kingdom¹. It was forwarded to the Sussexes' office "for their awareness," the force said^1,2.

Meghan said last week the letter made troubling allegations against her father¹. Sky News reported she said she is "deeply distressed" by later claims that he possessed child sex abuse images³.

Those later claims, reported last week, involve material Thomas Markle Jr said he found at his father's former home in the Philippines and took to local police¹. Markle has denied possessing such images, describing the claims as false¹.

The Met said an initial review in recent days prompted the IOPC referral, and that it intends to refer the letter's allegations to relevant overseas agencies, a step it said would be completed in coming days^1,2,3.

The force said it was aware of media reports that it had tried to obtain a copy of the letter¹. Reuters' page on overseas referrals could not be read in full⁴.