All eyes will be on Meghan Markle come May 19 when she walks down the aisle of St. George's
Chapel to marry Prince Harry. But they'll also be on her 61-year-old mother Doria Ragland,
who, as the mother of the bride, will share in the royal spotlight, just as Carole Middleton
did back in 2011. From Ragland's career path to her relationship
with her daughter, here's everything you need to know about Prince Harry's future mother-in-law.
She and Tom Markle divorced when their daughter
was six-years old, but the marriage reportedly ended amicably. Markle, who is Ragland's only
child, lived with her mother after her parents' split, but saw her father regularly.
By all accounts, Markle and her mom appear to have an incredibly close relationship.
"We can just have so much fun together, and yet I'll still find so much solace in her
support," she said. "That duality coexists the same way it would in a best friend."
Markle revealed her sweet nickname. "I’m consistently asked how I keep a foot in two
contrasting worlds–one in the entertainment industry, predicated on wealth and indulgence,
and the other in humanitarian work. To me, it’s less of a question of how can you do
this, and more a question of how can you not?" she wrote in a post titled "How to Be Both."
"'I don’t know, Flower. You were just born that way.' This is my mom’s response to
the aforementioned question, and indicative of the character traits she knows me to have
so well: opinionated, driven, and with a deep desire to affect change. 'It’s just who
you are,' she says. (And yes, she calls me, 'Flower.')"
Given the royal family's propensity for pet names, it sounds like Ragland will fit right
in.
She works specifically with the geriatric community. In the past Markle has also described
her mother as "a free-spirited clinical therapist," who also teaches yoga.
Despite all the royal craziness over the past few months, Ragland reportedly still works
at Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services in Culver City, California. The organization's mission
statement reads, "Didi Hirsch transforms lives by providing quality mental health and substance
abuse services in communities where stigma or poverty limit access."
Markle has written about her mother and their
bond several times. In a 2014 the soon-to-be royal described her in this way: "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."
Markle credits her parents' influence with
her philanthropic instincts. "Both my parents came from little, so they made a choice to
give a lot," Markle wrote on In 2016, "buying turkeys for homeless shelters at Thanksgiving,
delivering meals to patients in hospice care, donating any spare change in their pocket
to those asking for it, and performing quiet acts of grace—be it a hug, a smile, or a
pat on the back to show ones in need that they would be alright."
It was her upbringing that inspired her advocacy work.
"This is what I grew up seeing, so that is what I grew up being," she continued, "a young
adult with a social consciousness to do what I could, and to, at the very least, speak
up when I knew something was wrong."
And it appears the feeling is mutual. During
the couple's first sit-down interview with the BBC, Prince Harry said simple, "Her mum’s
amazing!" Ragland and Harry have reportedly met several times.
"I’m sure at the onset, both my parents and my close friends were concerned because
we got very quickly swept up in a media storm that was not part of my life before that,
but they also had never seen me so happy," Markle said in that same BBC interview.
"And I think also once my friends were able to really meet Harry and my mom, who we’ve
spent a lot of time with, who’s so much fun...It was just obvious that no matter what
we were being put through, it was just temporary." Ragland and Markle's father released a statement
following the royal engagement announcement, which read: "We are incredibly happy for Meghan
and Harry. Our daughter has always been a kind and loving person. To see her union with
Harry, who shares the same qualities, is a source of great joy for us as parents. We
wish them a lifetime of happiness and are very excited for their future together."