MEGHAN Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland resides near her daughter and Prince Harry in California.
The 64-year-old has a home in the View Park-Windsor Hills neighborhood of LA, just an hour-and-a-half drive from Montecito, where Harry and Meghan live.
Who is Doria Ragland?
Doria Ragland is the Duchess of Sussex’s mother.
She is a yoga instructor and former makeup artist.
Ragland was a social worker for the mental health sector from 2015-2018.
She previously worked as a travel agent and owned a small business, before filing for bankruptcy in the mid 2000’s.
Where does Doria live?
Ragland inherited her home, located just east of Los Angeles International Airport, in 2011 when her father died.
She and Meghan, as a statement issued by the official Royal Family twitter account confirmed Ragland was a hands-on grandma.
The tweet 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 mom 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.”
Where is Doria from?
Ragland is an American citizen and was born in Ohio in September 1956, to parents who were a nurse and an antiques dealer.
What was life like for Doria and Meghan growing up?
Ragland 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 Ragland was her real mom.
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 Ragland 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 mom 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.
