King Charles III and Prince William’s households are facing renewed questions over what the Royal Family knew about the disturbing allegations involving Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas Markle, but several people who occupied important positions within the royal establishment are now understood to be insisting that they were never informed about the letter that raised the concerns. Their position is significant because it challenges any suggestion that senior members of the Royal Family were aware of the allegations and deliberately chose to keep them from the public or from other authorities.

The letter, written by Thomas Markle’s former wife, reportedly raised serious concerns about his alleged activities. The claims have not been established as fact, and Thomas has denied the allegations. Nevertheless, the questions surrounding who received the letter, who understood its contents and who was responsible for passing the information on have created an uncomfortable situation for the Palace.

What makes the latest revelations particularly striking is the number of senior figures who are said to have been kept in the dark, including people working for both the Sussexes and the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Senior Royal Aides Say They Were Never Told

Among those reportedly unaware of the Loveless letter was Samantha Cohen, a former aide to Queen Elizabeth II who served as private secretary to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the time. Given her position within the Sussex household, her reported lack of knowledge raises questions about how closely the couple’s private affairs were shared with the people responsible for supporting them.

According to The Times, Jason Knauf, who served as joint communications secretary to the Sussexes and the Cambridges, is also thought to have been unaware of the letter. Simon Case, who was private secretary to Prince William and Catherine at the time and later became cabinet secretary to four prime ministers, was reportedly not informed either.

One source offered an explanation for why so many people may have known nothing about the allegations, saying of Meghan and Harry: “They were very private and tended not to share stuff with others.”

That observation suggests that information which might ordinarily have been discussed among senior advisers may have remained within a much smaller circle. It also makes it difficult to establish whether other members of the Royal Family had any opportunity to understand the potential seriousness of the claims before the matter became a wider public concern.

Play

King Charles’s Household Was Also Kept in the Dark

Aides working for Charles when he was Prince of Wales are also thought to have been unaware of the allegations involving Thomas Markle. This is an important detail because it suggests that the concerns were not necessarily known throughout the royal establishment, despite the possible reputational consequences for the family.

According to the reporting, had Charles’s advisers been aware of the allegations, they would likely have warned the media to exercise caution when publishing material about Meghan’s father. That could have changed how some of the coverage was handled, particularly given the intense public interest in the relationship between Meghan and Thomas.

For King Charles and Prince William, that distinction is important. Their staff are now understood to be making clear that neither household was informed about the allegations, rather than being aware of the concerns and choosing not to act on them.

Why the Police Were Not Alerted

The questions extend beyond the Royal Family. Senior Metropolitan Police figures, including then commissioner Cressida Dick and Neil Basu, who was assistant commissioner for specialist operations and oversaw royal protection, were also reportedly not informed about the Loveless letter.

Had they known about the allegations, they might have considered whether other law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and police in Thailand and the Philippines, needed to be alerted. The Metropolitan Police’s failure to inform other agencies is now being examined by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

However, the reporting suggests that the Royalty and Specialist Protection officers who assessed the letter in 2019 may not have recognized its wider significance and did not refer it further up the chain of command.

A policing source offered a pointed assessment of how the matter may have been handled: “These people are not detectives and have a tendency to be quite linear in their thinking,” the source said via The Times. “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.”

The officers may have focused mainly on what the letter meant for Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle’s security. There is a possibility that they ignored it without fully appreciating that the allegations could have had wider implications beyond the couple’s personal protection.

For the Palace, the latest revelations bring a difficult question back into focus: if so many senior aides and officials were unaware of the letter, how did information of such potential significance remain confined to such a small circle? King Charles and Prince William may have had no knowledge of the allegations, but the continuing investigation into how the letter was assessed and handled means that the questions surrounding it are far from over.