Maintaining a private and grounded life when your daughter is one of the most recognized
faces on the planet is a tall order, but Meghan Markle's mother achieves it with grace and
dignity.
From her creative career path to how she met Meghan's dad, here's the truth about Doria
Ragland.
Doria Ragland first met her ex Thomas Markle in a place of high drama.
While she was filling in as a make-up artist on the set of the long-running soap opera
"General Hospital," she encountered a lighting director who was 12 years older than her,
according to the Daily Mail.
"Just when things couldn't seem bleaker, another miracle happened.
My client found love."
Along with their age difference, Markle was also divorced with two children from a previous
marriage.
The couple began dating and were engaged to be married shortly after.
While Ragland moved on from daytime TV, Markle continued to work as a lighting director on
"General Hospital," for which he won a Daytime Emmy, and worked on other shows like "Married
With Children."
Ragland and Markle tied the knot in 1979 at a Self-Realisation Fellowship Temple founded
by an Indian yogi dedicated to spiritual discovery through yoga and meditation.
Ragland eventually divorced Markle when Meghan was just 6, but they stayed amicable and raised
her together.
Meghan quoted Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in her now-defunct website, The Tig, as she
reflected on her parents' union during an era when interracial marriages were far less
common, saying:
"[To] my mom and dad for choosing each other not for the 'color of their skin, but the
content of their character,' to all of you champions of change: Thank you."
If her bohemian wedding didn't clue you in, Doria Ragland is a bit of a hippie.
Her daughter happily fleshed out this image in a post she penned about her mother on The
Tig in 2014, saying:
"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."
Ragland co-parented with Thomas Markle following their divorce.
Her bond with her daughter grew, and Meghan considers their relationship closer than a
typical mother-daughter bond.
"Now behind me is the home where Meghan Markle grew up with their mom, and so many people
are talking about the special relationship they have and feeling the love."
Meghan wrote for Glamour:
"We can just have so much fun together, and yet, I'll still find so much solace in her
support.
That duality coexists the same way it would in a best friend."
According to People, Ragland still lives a very similar lifestyle, as a dedicated yogi
with an affinity for nature and her pets.
A neighbor shared:
"She walks her dogs multiple times a day, or takes them hiking.
She is often spotted heading out with her yoga mat."
Such a contrast to the more buttoned-up royal family, Ragland is fascinating, but to the
disappointment of tabloids everywhere, she keeps things lowkey and private.
Coming from a family that's steeped in tradition, it's probably not surprising Prince Harry
decided to go through all the proper channels before popping the question to Meghan Markle.
But it's still pretty romantic!
According to Us Weekly, Ragland was present when the young couple made their first joint
appearance together at the Invictus Games in Toronto.
He didn't squander the opportunity, according to a source, and asked Ragland's permission
to marry her daughter.
With Ragland's blessings locked in, the Duke of Sussex proposed to Meghan Markle two months
later.
Though he's said to have also asked Markle's father, Thomas, before proposing, the two
have never met in person.
But Harry's relationship with Ragland seems to be ideal.
"And my mom, who we spend a lot of time with, who's so much fun.”
“Her mom's amazing."
To put it lightly, royal weddings are kind of a big deal in the U.K. Add in the dynamics
of race, a slight age difference, and Meghan Markle's previous marriage, and it's enough
for tabloids to constantly churn out stories.
So when Doria Ragland's American daughter was preparing for the entire world to watch
her wed, she leaned on her mother for support.
Harper's Bazaar reported that it was thought Ragland would step in and walk Markle down
the aisle.
In the end, Markle walked down the aisle alone most of the way, until Prince Charles took
her arm for the final steps.
The suggestion to include Prince Charles was reportedly made by Harry, given Charles' longtime
ceremonial experience as a royal.
A source explained:
"There are few people on the planet who are more experienced than Prince Charles when
it comes to set piece events like this.
In contrast if her mother was by her side, it would have been down to Meghan to perform
that calming role."
According to CNN, Meghan Markle made history as the only royal bride to walk down the aisle
unescorted, symbolically establishing herself as, quote, "a strong, independent woman who
is prepared to challenge royal norms."
In other words, she was following in her free-spirited mother's footsteps.
Doria Ragland has constantly redefined herself professionally.
While she has made some boss moves in her career, now she's quite literally the boss
as CEO of the senior care management company Loving Kindness in Beverly Hills, the Daily
Mail reports.
Per its website, Loving Kindness uses a holistic approach, balancing mind, body, and spirit
in their care.
Prior to her current job, Ragland worked at a mental health clinic, but ended up leaving
when the media stormed her life during royal wedding season.
An insider told Us Weekly that Ragland was overwhelmed by the attention, saying:
"Doria made the very difficult decision to leave her job at the clinic because there
had been a lot of calls from the media asking to speak with her because her daughter was
marrying Prince Harry."
The insider added that she considered a shorter leave of absence, but ultimately realized
that the interest in her daughter -- and, by extension, her -- wasn't going to wane
just because the wedding ended.
If having a princess for a daughter isn't wild enough, Doria Ragland can also call the
queen of television her personal friend.
Oprah Winfrey cozied up to Ragland prior to the royal wedding, inviting her to an intimate
lunch at her home.
Per ET, the new friends did yoga on Winfrey's lawn during the relaxing afternoon together.
Of course, the press went wild over the pair meeting up, and rumors spread that Ragland
left Winfrey's home carrying gifts that were meant to bribe her into a juicy exclusive
interview, according to Express.
But Winfrey put an end to the rumors during an interview by revealing the kind of details
about their date that the press was all too hungry for.
She said that Ragland was just carrying her yoga mat and a basket of Ragland's favorite
fruit from one of Winfrey's trees.
"I'm giving her gifts.
I'm trying to bribe her for an interview.
They were kumquats!
If kumquats can get you an interview, I'm all for it."
Winfrey attended the royal wedding weeks later, an event she described as a, quote, "cultural
moment."
In 2019, Doria Ragland became a grandmother when Meghan Markle gave birth to a sweet little
son with a very big name.
Per Royal.uk, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor is seventh in line for the throne.
Us Weekly reports that Ragland spent several weeks with her daughter and son-in-law to
help them care for her infant grandson before she returned home to California.
Luckily for Ragland, her daughter is much closer to home these days.
Following the birth of Lilibet, in 2021, Ragland gifted Meghan and Harry with her time, becoming
a hands-on grandmother to help out the young parents.
A source told Us Weekly:
"Meghan's so grateful to have her mom to lean on, and Harry just adores her."
Doria Ragland's daughter has had quite the fairytale romance, what with the actual prince
husband and all.
But you might be surprised that it wasn't Meghan but Doria Ragland who inspired a romance
novel.
We know what you're thinking.
"How am I ever going to turn this into a book?"
Well, after Queen Elizabeth invited Ragland to Christmas with the royal family, a librarian
tweeted some possibilities the scenario had as a romance novel, saying
"Having read this news, I [...] NEED a charming romance about the single mother of a new Duchess
falling in love with an appropriately aged royal retainer while spending Christmas at
Sandringham.”
This kind of royal fan-fiction resonated across the Twitterverse, reaching all the way to
bestselling author Jasmine Guillory, who tweeted:
"I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE."
Not only did Guillory volunteer, she came through with the novel "Royal Holiday" that
was published in 2019.
When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were making the decision to resign from their royal duties,
Doria Ragland was allegedly all for her daughter taking the huge step.
According to the Mirror, Ragland was a rock to the couple, bridging the distance by traveling,
quote, "back and forth for the last few weeks."
And it's not hard to see why Ragland would be on team #Megxit.
Along with the tabloid frenzy that followed Markle, even when she was hidden behind closed
doors, the institution's handling of the American princess has come under scrutiny.
Harper's Bazaar reports that Markle couldn't seek treatment for severe depression, and
that Ragland was especially distraught by the imposed isolation her daughter faced.
"When the perception and the reality are two very different things, and you're being judged
on the perception, but you're living the reality of it, there's a complete misalignment."
Per the Daily Mail, an insider claimed that Ragland was, quote, "worried about Meghan
... and is relieved that her daughter is putting her mental health and well-being first."
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