Meghan Markle's Mom Was There to Welcome Her First Grandchild
While some of Meghan Markle's more outspoken family members continue to stir up drama, there's one relative who has stuck by her side: her mom, Doria Ragland. When Meghan and Prince Harry welcomed their son on Monday, May 6, the new grandma was there to celebrate the arrival.
A post shared by The Royal Family (@theroyalfamily) on May 6, 2019 at 7:07am PDT
In an official statement, the royals gave a shout-out to Doria: "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 has gushed about her mom over the years too, so it's no surprise she wanted her there.
"We can just have so much fun together, and yet, I'll still find so much solace in her support," she wrote of their relationship in Glamour in 2017. "That duality coexists the same way it would in a best friend."
Here's everything you need to know about Meghan's number one cheerleader.
Her name is Doria Ragland, not Radlan.
Despite various articles and Google search results using the latter, both Kensington Palace and Meghan Markle herself spell it "Ragland." It's unclear where the misspelling initially appeared.
Ms. Markle's parents, Mr. Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland have wished the couple 'a lifetime of happiness.' pic.twitter.com/H4kpTgpkYE
- Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) November 27, 2017
She's a social worker living in California.
Ragland recently worked at a nonprofit mental health clinic in Los Angeles, but quit her job before the royal wedding.
"It was Doria’s decision to leave,” a source told Us Weekly. “She has talked about starting her own private practice, focusing on working with elderly patients.”
The 62-year-old received her license - "a lifelong dream" - in 2015 after Markle helped fund her master's at the University of Southern California, according to Us Weekly. The Ohio native has also worked as a yoga instructor.
TV brought her and Meghan's dad together.
Ragland and Thomas Markle Sr. met while working on the set of General Hospital in the late '70s. "My dad was a lighting director for a soap opera and my mom was a temp at the studio," Meghan wrote in a 2015 essay for Elle. "I like to think he was drawn to her sweet eyes and her Afro, plus their shared love of antiques. Whatever it was, they married and had me."
They split when Meghan was 6 years old.
After the couple divorced in 1988, their only child lived primarily with her mom. Ragland never remarried or had any other children; Tom Markle already had two kids from a previous marriage, Samantha Grant and Thomas Markle Jr.
She's a "free spirit."
Meghan remains extremely close with her mom, as evidenced by posts on her former lifestyle website The Tig. Ragland even has the sweetest nickname for her: "Flower," Town & Country reports.
The actress wrote about their close bond back in 2014:
Dreadlocks. Nose ring. Yoga instructor. Social worker. Free spirit. Lover of potato chips and 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.
Prince Harry adores her.
The couple revealed in their sit-down interview with BBC that they'd spent a lot of time with Ragland in the lead-up to their engagement. "Her mum’s amazing!" Prince Harry interjected.
One of those meetings occurred in the fall of 2017 at the Invictus Games in Toronto, the sporting competition for veterans that Prince Harry founded. Meghan and her mom attended the closing ceremony and the royal also reportedly used the opportunity to ask permission to propose.
She was involved in the wedding planning.
Meghan reportedly flew halfway around the world to talk deets with her mom in L.A. just weeks before the wedding. She came "equipped with sketches from the wedding and of the wedding dress itself, so she could really give her mom some insight on how the big day will look," royal contributor Omid Scobie told Good Morning America.
She met with the entire royal family before the wedding.
Ragland flew out to London ahead of the wedding to help with preparations and meet her new in-laws, Kensington Palace confirmed.
"Ms. Doria Ragland will be arriving in the UK in the week of the wedding, allowing time for Prince Harry's family, including The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, and The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, to spend time with [her] before the big day," the couple's press secretary revealed in a statement.
Meghan picked an important role for her in the wedding.
Ragland traveled with Meghan by car to Windsor Castle on her big day, but after Meghan's dad announced he would no longer attend the royal wedding, many speculated whether she would also walk her down the aisle.
Kensington Palace confirmed ahead of time that Prince Charles would do the duty, although the bride reportedly consulted with her mom first. "Doria and Meghan discussed it but she just didn't feel she could go through with it," royal journalist Duncan Larcombe told Harper's Bazaar UK. "According to the guidance I've been given, Meghan felt that it would be too much to expect her mother to perform such an important role when more than one billion people are expected to be watching."
She looked simply gorgeous in green.
Doria wore a custom dress and day coat designed by creative directors of Oscar de la Renta, Fernando Garcia, and Laura Kim, Kensington Palace confirmed in a statement. The mint-green ensemble featured white floral embroidery, complementing the rose detail on her clutch.
British milliner Stephen Jones, O.B.E., who's worked with Meghan closely since she moved to the UK, created her custom hat and Edgardo Osorio of Aquazurra designed her shoes.
Meghan made a surprise visit to see her mom before giving birth.
After making headlines for her trip to New York City for a baby shower in mid-February, The Sun revealed that she made a secret trip to Los Angeles to see Doria. Both she and Harry were reportedly spotted by the grandma-to-be's neighbors. "Meghan is a mommy's girl," shared one neighbor. "Their special mother-daughter bond hasn't disappeared just because she's moved to England."
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