Police say Meghan's dad was reported to Philippine authorities in 2019

The Metropolitan Police confirmed on Saturday that it received a letter in 2019 containing specific claims about Thomas Markle.

Police forwarded the document to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their awareness. They stated that the specific details of the allegations were not shared with other law enforcement agencies.

The confirmation follows reports in the British tabloid The Sun that Markle was reported to authorities in the Philippines by his son, Thomas Markle Jr. The younger man allegedly found child abuse materials in storage boxes at the family home.

Authorities in the Philippines are currently dealing with Markle over alleged possession of child sexual abuse materials. The Daily Mail reported on Friday that Markle denied these allegations.

Meghan Markle said in a statement sent to CBS News on Friday that she was deeply distressed by the reports. She stated she had known of the allegations since 2018 and that they were shared with U.K. authorities at that time.

A spokesperson for the duchess explained that a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection in 2018. The duchess said the letter was subsequently shared with her and that it made troubling and disturbing allegations against her father.

The core discrepancy lies in the date of the letter, with Meghan citing 2018 and police confirming 2019. A spokesman for the duchess told BBC News that any discrepancy of a few months was an understandable consequence of the passage of time. The Metropolitan Police will now review how the matter was handled in 2019 and decide whether to refer itself to the police watchdog.