Who is Meghan Markle’s mum Doria Ragland and what is her nationality?
DORIA Ragland is Meghan Markle’s mother, and the American lives in Los Angeles, near her daughter and Prince Harry. The 64-year-old, who works as a yoga instructor, has a home in the View Park-Windsor Hills neighbourhood of LA, just an hour-and-a-half drive from Montecito, where Harry and Meghan recently bought a house. Doria inherited her […]
DORIA Ragland is Meghan Markle’s mother, and the American lives in Los Angeles, near her daughter and Prince Harry.
The 64-year-old, who works as a yoga instructor, has a home in the View Park-Windsor Hills neighbourhood of LA, just an hour-and-a-half drive from Montecito, where Harry and Meghan recently bought a house.
Mother and daughter are incredibly close, with Doria staying with Meghan after she welcomed baby Archie in May 2019.
A statement issued by the official Royal Family twitter account confirmed Doria was a hands-on gran.
It said: “The Duchess’s mother, Doria Ragland, who is overjoyed by the arrival of her first grandchild, is with Their Royal Highnesses at Frogmore Cottage.”
Meghan previously raved about her mum on her now-defunct lifestyle blog The Tig, writing: “Dreadlocks. Nose ring. Yoga instructor. Social worker. Free spirit. Lover of potato chips & lemon tarts.
“And if the DJ cues Al Green’s soul classic ‘Call Me,’ just forget it. She will swivel her hips into the sweetest little dance you’ve ever seen, swaying her head and snapping her fingers to the beat like she’s been dancing since the womb.
“And you will smile. You won’t be able to help it. You will look at her and you will feel joy. I’m talking about my mom.”
Who is Doria Ragland?
Doria Ragland, 64, is a yoga instructor and social worker from Cleveland, Ohio.
She gave birth to Meghan in August 1981 and divorced Meghan’s father Thomas when the Duchess was six-years-old.
Her Facebook page states she has a career in social work at Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services in California.
Meghan has described her mum as a “free-spirited clinical therapist” and is proud she took her travelling to remote – often impoverished – places when she was younger.
Where is Doria Ragland from?
The 64-year-old is an American citizen and was born in Ohio in September 1956, to parents who were a nurse and an antiques dealer.
The family later moved to Los Angeles, where Doria attended Fairfax High School.
After school she worked as a make-up artist, which is how she met Meghan’s dad, Thomas, who was a lighting director.
Following their marriage in 1979, the family settled down in The Valley, LA.
Doria then worked as an air stewardess, with Meghan looked after by her father, but the couple divorced in 1987, when Meghan was six.
What was life like for Doria and Meghan growing up?
Doria is African-American, while Meghan’s father is Dutch-Irish, and their difference in skin tone led to the family receiving racial abuse when she was younger.
The actress has said that because her mother is black with dreadlocks, and she passes as Caucasian, she often received hurtful comments about whether Doria was her real mum.
Meghan recalled how her mother was mistaken for the nanny before adding in an interview: “I was home in LA on a college break when my mom was called the ‘N’ word. We were leaving a concert and she wasn’t pulling out of a parking space quickly enough for another driver.”
Writing for Elle Magazine, she added: “Being biracial paints a blurred line that is equal parts staggering and illuminating.
“While my mixed heritage may have created a grey area surrounding my self-identification, keeping me with a foot on both sides of the fence, I have come to embrace that.
“To say who I am, to share where I’m from, to voice my pride in being a strong, confident mixed-race woman.”
When did Doria meet Meghan’s husband Prince Harry?
Prince Harry flew Doria out to Toronto to join Meghan and himself at the Invictus Games in October 2018.
Royal experts said Harry’s decision to invite Meghan’s mum to join them at the closing ceremony of his Invictus Games was “hugely significant.”
They said that flying yoga instructor Doria Ragland 2,500 miles from LA to Toronto to be seen alongside them in the VIP box suggested an engagement announcement was imminent.
She watched them marry on May 19 2018, fighting back the tears as they shared their first kiss.
Is she spending Christmas with Meghan and Harry?
Meghan and Harry could spend another Christmas with Doria, with mother and daughter now less than two hours away from each other in LA.
The couple chose to spend baby Archie’s first festive season away from Sandringham and with Meghan’s mum Doria Ragland, in 2018.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussexes’ decision had “the support of the Queen” as other members of the royal family have done the same.
A palace spokesman said at the time: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are looking forward to extended family time towards the end of this month.
“Having spent the last two Christmases at Sandringham, Their Royal Highnesses will spend the holiday this year, as a new family, with the Duchess’ mother Doria Ragland.
“This decision is in line with precedent set previously by other members of the Royal Family, and has the support of Her Majesty The Queen.”
In 2018, The Queen invited Meghan’s mother to spend Christmas at Sandringham Estate.
This offer has never been extended to Kate Middleton’s parents.
However, Doria has no immediate family other than Meghan to spend the family with, unlike the Middletons’ who have their entire family here in Britain.
Reports suggest Doria politely declined the invitation from the Queen.