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Saturday Night Live UK took aim at Meghan Markle’s family drama during its October 24 Weekend Update segment. Comedians Paddy Young and Ania Magliano joked about allegations against Markle’s estranged father, Thomas Markle Sr. He has denied the claims. 

“In royal news, it’s been a big 24 hours for Meghan Markle, whose dad has been accused of being an alleged p–dophile, in another pathetic attempt to win over the British public,” Young said. He added, “In 2025, Thomas Markle moved to the Philippines in a sure sign of his innocence.” 

Magliano then made a joke about Markle’s royal status. “If the allegations about Meghan Markle’s father are true and he is a p–dophile, there is a genuine chance Meghan could be considered royal,” she said. Her joke appeared to poke fun at scandals involving Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. His links to convicted s–x offender Jeffrey Epstein have drawn years of attention.

He also settled a civil lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre without admitting liability. The jokes came after Markle Sr. was placed under investigation in the Philippines. His son, Thomas Markle Jr., allegedly found images suspected of depicting child s–xual abuse at his father’s former home in Cebu. He handed the material to local police. 

On October 23, Philippine Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Ty confirmed the investigation to Reuters. “Our Anti-Trafficking and Anti-OSAEC (online s–xual abuse and exploitation of children) task force in Cebu is currently investigating the matter,” Ty told the news agency.

Thomas Sr. denied the allegations in comments to the Daily Mail. He said he was “shocked” and “hurt” by his son’s claims. “I could never do what I’m being accused of. It’s the worst thing anyone could accuse me of,” he said.

“This is bullshit. It’s just a bunch of lies. It’s sick. I have no idea why Tom is trying to destroy me with these lies,” he added. According to The Blast, Philippine Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said forensic testing was underway. Investigators expected more findings within about a week. No criminal finding against Thomas has been announced. 

Markle also spoke out on October 23, saying she was “deeply distressed” by the allegations against her father. “In 2018, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection,” the Duchess of Sussex told Page Six.

“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 added. The Duchess also said she kept her father away from her children to protect them. 

“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,” she concluded. 

Markle shared Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet with Prince Harry. The Metropolitan Police confirmed it received the letter in January 2019. Police passed it to the Sussexes’ office but didn’t share the allegations with other law enforcement agencies. 

Meanwhile, in September, Saturday Night Live UK also mocked Markle and Harry in a fictional royal reunion sketch at Balmoral. One joke questioned whether they had spent their Netflix money. Another featured Markle presenting Queen Camilla with homemade ice. 

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