“Saturday Night Live UK” used its Weekend Update segment to take aim at Thomas Markle, the estranged father of Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, following reports that he is under investigation over allegations involving child sex abuse images.
Comedian Paddy Young told viewers: “In royal news, it’s been a big 24 hours for Meghan Markle, whose dad has been accused of being an alleged pedophile, in another pathetic attempt to win over the British public.” He went on to joke, “In 2025, Thomas Markle moved to the Philippines in a sure sign of his innocence.”
Fellow comedian Ania Magliano followed with a jab of her own: “If the allegations about Meghan Markle’s father are true and he is a pedophile, there is a genuine chance Meghan could be considered royal.”
The sketch aired days after reports emerged that Thomas Markle, 82, was being investigated over what was described as “hundreds, if not thousands” of child sex abuse images allegedly discovered in his home in the Philippines. According to the Sun, his son, Thomas Jr., allegedly found the material in several boxes and handed it over to local police.
Thomas Sr. has firmly denied the allegations. Speaking to the Daily Mail, he said he was “shocked” and “hurt” by his son’s claims, calling them “sick lies.”
“I could never do what I’m being accused of. It’s the worst thing anyone could accuse me of,” he said. “This is bulls–t. It’s just a bunch of lies. It’s sick. I have no idea why Tom is trying to destroy me with these lies.”
Meghan, 45, addressed the allegations in a statement given to Page Six last Friday, saying she is “deeply distressed” by the claims against her father.
“In 2018, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection. That letter was subsequently shared with me. It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated,” she said.
She added: “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.”
Meghan and Prince Harry share two children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5. Thomas Markle has had little contact with the couple or their children in recent years.
