It must be 'awful' for Meghan Markle to have to contend constantly with such a 'ghastly' extended family, Senior Features Writer Guy Adams has told the Daily Mail's Deep Dive podcast.
Having spent days investigating Meghan's estranged family, the award-winning reporter sat down with host Chris Pleasance to unpick the disturbing allegations levelled against Thomas Markle Senior.
Last week, it emerged that police in the Philippines were investigating the 82-year-old over allegations he possessed child sexual abuse material.
The material was allegedly found in boxes shipped to Cebu from the home he had shared with his son in Mexico. The retired television lighting director, who Meghan has not had a relationship with since 2018, strenuously denies the accusations.
As reported by The Sun, it was Mr Markle's only son, Thomas Junior, who tipped police off. The 60-year-old, who had been living with his father in the Philippines, said he discovered photographs and DVDs inside four cardboard boxes while searching for an old phone.
The allegations drew a swift response from the Duchess, who said she was 'deeply distressed' and that her thoughts were with 'any children who may have been harmed'.
Last week, it emerged that police in the Philippines were investigating the 82-year-old over allegations he possessed child sexual abuse material
Guy told Deep Dive that Meghan is 'in some ways a victim' in the affair, and praised the way she has handled the claims against her father.
He said: 'It feels crass to say someone comes out of anything as grim as this looking good. But, if the story's true, she's a victim and if it's not true, I think one would sympathise with her for having such a ghastly family.
'They all come across as terrible and trailer trashy. It would be awful to have that kind of extended family.
'One's natural sympathy is with her on that front. It's very hard to predict where stories like this will run.'
Guy emphasised that Meghan's estranged relatives had all at various stages sold each other out to the press, behaving, in his view, 'pretty reprehensibly'.
Thomas Jnr has insisted he acted out of duty, telling The Sun: 'When I found this material, I was horrified and I had no option but to report my dad.'
'He's had quite a chaotic life over the years', Guy explained.
'He's been arrested a few times. Once for drink driving, once for allegedly threatening a girlfriend with a gun. Charges were dismissed in that case.
'Since his sister became very famous, he's given a number of interviews about the family. Some very unflattering interviews about his father.
'In one case, he sold a tape recording of his father talking about his love life to the National Enquirer.'
Thomas Jnr (pictured) has insisted he acted out of duty, telling The Sun: 'When I found this material, I was horrified and I had no option but to report my dad.'
Samantha Markle, the Duchess of Sussex's half-sister, (left) has said if her mother did report her father over alleged child sex abuse, it was motivated by 'hatred and bitterness'
Samantha Markle, 61, Meghan's half-sister and a staunch defender of their father, has accused her brother of making up the allegations to make money from the media.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, she claimed Thomas Snr had recently cut his son off financially, changing the passwords on his own account, which his son had been able to access.
'According to Samantha Markle', Guy began. 'When Thomas Snr returned to America, the family had to sort out his medical care and circumstances.
'They started looking at his bank account and realised that sums of money were being extracted from the account on quite a regular basis by someone who wasn't him. The suspicion was that it was Thomas Jnr.
'Under the guise of paying for their housekeeping or whatever, he was just taking lots of money from his dad's account. Spending it in bars and having a good time in the Philippines.
'Thomas Snr thought: 'I didn't authorise this', so he changed the passwords on his bank account to stop this money being transferred out.
'It was in July this year that this came to a head… according to Samantha, it was at this point he made allegations about his father.
'That's not to say the allegations are true or not, but that's the background. There are obviously questions about what Thomas Junior's motive was.'
Thomas Jnr has not commented on the claims about his father's bank account.
Thomas Senior has declared he will do 'whatever it takes' to clear his name, although he is said to be in severe ill health.
No charges have been brought, and Philippine police say they are still waiting on a warrant to examine the devices, a process expected to take about a week once it is granted. The case continues.
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