Meghan Markle Says Police Told Her to Stay Silent

0:01 Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I am your host, Mark Francis. William and Kate shared their first Halloween-themed social media post, choosing a photograph of Prince Louis as a toddler attempting to pick up a large pumpkin. The picture, taken by Catherine when Louis was one, appeared on the couple's joint Instagram account with the caption, Happy Halloween, pumpkin emoji. Louis is now eight, making the photographer glimpse back at one of his earliest autumn celebrations. Have we distracted you from discussing Thomas Markle yet? King Charles offered a rare look inside the aircraft which took him to the Caribbean with photographs showing how he keeps up with work while flying.

0:46 Images shared by the royal family's Instagram account showed the king reading a substantial file of papers in a spacious grey leather seat with a large wooden table in front of him. Other seats were visible behind him, including one with a red and yellow checked cushion. The Post explained that when travelling, the King likes to spend time reading briefing papers, continuing with his government red-box duties, reading and writing correspondence, and discussing projects with his support team. A second photograph revealed an additional passenger in the cockpit, Geoffrey the Giraffe, a soft toy associated with a fundraising campaign supporting Great Ormond Street Hospital. Geoffrey was positioned in front of the pilot as the aircraft made its journey across the Atlantic. The caption explained, In the cockpit on His Majesty's flight, the pilots were joined by Geoffrey the Giraffe, whose travels helped raise funds for Great Ormond Street's Giraffe on Tour. Charles arrived in Nassau on October 27 to begin his nine-day Caribbean tour, which comes amid renewed calls for Britain to apologise and pay reparations for its involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. There's also that other story involving Thomas Markle. But hey, the king was dancing. Are you distracted yet? His Majesty joined dancers to take part in Junkanoo and shook a pair of maracas in the colours of the Bahamian flag. Wearing a suit and sunglasses in the heat, the king was cheered by the crowd as he took part in the Junkanoo celebration. Also as part of the itinerary, the king visited the Bahamian Boxing Academy.

2:13 Their young fighters and their head coach welcomed him in t-shirts. depicting the king wearing a crown, boxing gloves and a championship belt. Jermaine Gibson, who was wearing one of the shirts, told the BBC, he loved it, he loved it, he said it was really good and we gave him one of his own. Charles then visited Bonefish Pond National Park, where a former dumping ground has been transformed into a protected area, encompassing more than 1,000 acres of mangroves. He walked along a new boardwalk to see the conservation work and met students conducting fieldwork, reflecting the tour's focus on protecting the Caribbean from the effects of climate change. As royal patron of the Bahamas National Trust, the king's visit highlighted his long-standing interest in conservation, although it was his exchange about the plant's future that provided a moment of dry humour. According to Hello, Charles told the newly planted shrub, I wish it luck when he learned that it could take 20 years to reach its full potential, the king added.

3:05 If I'm still alive, I hope to see it grow into something bigger. King Charles was caught without an umbrella when torrential rain swept across a military parade in Antigua. leaving him soaked but still able to joke about the state of his suit. The King and Queen were standing on a podium for the national anthems at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium when the downpour began, interrupting celebrations marking Antigua M. Barbuda's 45th anniversary of independence. Kimmler was quickly handed an umbrella and moved towards covered seating while Charles raised his hand and appeared to mime holding one, repeatedly asking, where's the umbrella? His equerry, Major Ben Rigby, eventually supplied one According to the Telegraph, the delay was explained by the local custom requiring everyone to remain still during the national anthem. The King continued with his inspection of the assembled troops despite the rain before watching hundreds of young people in cadet, scout and nursing uniforms march past and salute. The downpour lasted around five minutes and Charles acknowledged cheering spectators with a wave as he crossed the ground. He later told Antiguan Prime Minister Gaston Brown, I think I'm about to grow watercress on my suit.

4:15 Camilla also found the humour in the situation, turning towards a member of the media and gesturing to her damp dress and rain-affected hair, I've given up, she said with a laugh and a shrug. The couple are in Antigua and Barbuda for Tuesday's Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, where discussions are expected to include calls for a slavery apology and possible additional financial assistance to Commonwealth states. We'll come back after the break and discuss Thomas Markle. Sensitive content ahead. We're in just a moment. Meghan wanted to make allegations against her father public in 2019, but was advised by a Royal Protection officer not to do so, according to the Sunday Times. The newspaper reports that the officer handed her a letter containing allegations of child sexual abuse and assured her, leave it with us, we'll investigate it. The Metropolitan Police was still trying to identify the officer at the time of the publication. Thomas Michael Sr. denies wrongdoing and has described allegations made by his son as sick lies.

5:17 The report comes as Mexican authorities search a storage unit near Rosarito that Markle once rented. Daily Mail reporters said they discovered suspected child sexual abuse material there on Friday and alerted the FBI. Mexican National Guard officers subsequently removed a computer, flash drives, videotapes and magazines. After reportedly obtaining a warrant to search for evidence consisting of child sexual abuse material, investigators in the Philippines are separately examining material recovered from Markle's former home in Cebu City. The Sunday Times reports that several senior royal aides and police chiefs were not told about the letter sent to Scotland Yard by Markle's former wife, Rosalind Loveless. The seven-page, handwritten correspondence arrived at the Metropolitan Police's Fixated Threat Assessment Centre in January 2019. People familiar with it described it as rambling, with accounts of the wider Markle family alongside allegations of sexual offences. Loveless, who died in 2024, alleged that Markle had sexually abused a child in the United States and travelled to Thailand and the Philippines because, she claimed, he said, 12-year-olds are legal there. Royalty and Specialist Protection officers assessed the letter and decided it should be passed to the Sussexes' Office for their awareness. The allegations were not shared with law enforcement agencies in the country's concern. According to the report, the protection officer who delivered the letter also advised Meghan against speaking publicly while she was facing criticism for her estrangement from her father. The newspaper says senior staff who were apparently unaware of the correspondence included the

6:48 Sussex's then-Private Secretary, Samantha Cohen, Joint Communications Secretary, Jason Nauf, and William and Catherine's Private Secretary, Simon Case. One source said of Harry and Meghan, they were very private and tended not to share stuff with others. Aides to Charles, who was then Prince of Wales, were also understood not to have known about the allegations, neither then Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick nor Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, whose responsibilities included royal protection, was informed, according to the Sunday Times. The newspaper reports that the Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating the force's failure to alert other law enforcement agencies. A policing source questioned whether the protection officers had considered the allegations beyond their immediate security responsibilities. These people are not detectives and have a tendency to be quite linear in their thinking, the source said. RASP would only have been interested in what it meant for the security of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, having assessed that they should have thought about the wider consequences. Separate reports also suggest Buckingham Palace was unaware of the allegations against Thomas Markle Sr. before they became public. Royal commentator Kinsey Schofield told Fox News Digital. Following the report, I made more than 40 phone calls to royal sources over the weekend and nobody I spoke to had heard anything about these allegations before the story broke in the sun. Understanding is that Buckingham Palace was blindsided, she added. They find themselves dragged into another controversy involving the Sussexes and the allegations

8:18 are deeply disturbing. Schofield suggested that the situation could leave Charles balancing concern for his son and worries about confidentiality. King Charles is in a difficult position. As a father, I believe he would want to offer Harry emotional support. Let's not forget it was the king who walked Meghan down the aisle when her own father couldn't. But Harry has repeatedly shared private conversations through interviews, documentaries and his memoir. The king would be reluctant to have a sensitive conversation on this topic with Prince Harry without reassurance that it would remain private. As for Prince William, don't expect him to get involved. This is not his fight. The palace has already established that Harry and Meghan are private citizens who do not represent the Crown. This is a matter for the Sussex household. The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that allegations were passed to Sussex's office in 2019, but the police say they did not share those allegations with other law enforcement agencies. My royal sources have given me no indication that the palace was informed. Royal broadcaster Ian Pelham-Turner also anticipated no public intervention from the King. He cannot publicly be seen to be doing anything at all, neither can any of the members of the royal family, because of this potential investigation. According to the prosecutor in Cebu in the Philippines, quick decisions are going to be made.

9:35 Turner added, What I see is Meghan, again, right in the middle of a controversy that is not of her doing. Commentator Hilary Fordich added, To date, while there has been no formal comment, needless to say, there's nothing about this the royals would want to be associated with, It is extremely unlikely the King or any royal comments in any way regarding the gravity of these allegations. Institutional distancing is more than likely. Thomas Markle has denied. the allegations. There you have it. If you'd like to email us, our address is thepalaceintrigue at gmail.com. I'm Mark Francis. My thanks to John McDermott. This is Palace Intrigue.