A key figure in Meghan Markle’s life, her mother, Doria Ragland, has also become one in the life of her son-in-law, Prince Harry. According to the British press, he holds her in high esteem and regularly asks her advice.
The perfect mother-in-law for this princely son-in-law. Prince Harry and his mother-in-law Doria Ragland have always had a good relationship, but it seems to have evolved further since the Sussexes’ shock exit from the royal family earlier this year, as reported in the British press. Since the beginning of his relationship with Meghan Markle, Prince Harry has seemed to get along well with his wife’s mother, a former TV makeup artist turned social worker, who reportedly has something in common with … Prince Harry’s grandmother. This is at least what a source close to the couple explains to the Daily Mail: “Doria is like the Queen, she never complains, and never explains herself.” And like Queen Elizabeth, her sweetness can only be appearance: “She’s laid back, people see her with her nose ring and her dreadlocks, but make no mistake, she’s made of steel. Underestimate her at your peril.”
From this strong woman, always hailed by his daughter as a role model, Prince Harry has grown very close, and has come to see her as a mother figure in her own right: “Meghan has always trusted her completely, but she has become a point of reference for Harry, who lost his mother when he was so young. Doria is warm. She’s a great cook, and she’s very maternal, but she doesn’t seek attention from others. And for Harry, her discretion and her silence are worth all the gold in the world”, explains the same source. And according to some close to the couple, Prince Harry would even go so far as to call his mother-in-law “Mom”. The same people recall that Harry “does not have a mother to ask for advice,” but that he has “always been incredibly close to Doria, and now more than ever.”
Doria Ragland has been calmness incarnate with the Sussexes
And when the storm hit the Sussexes, Doria Ragland knew how to be present, some calling her “a source of absolute strength” for both Meghan and Harry. The latter would have turned a lot to his mother-in-law: “Harry, in particular, sought advice from Doria”, and especially while they were moving to the United States, the same source tells the Daily Mail. Because, according to this insider speaking to The Sun, in 2020, “Harry has a lot of respect for her and her judgment, and that’s why he and Meghan have consulted her a lot, through this whole process.
“She has been calmness incarnate, through it all,” asserts one. A calm and a saving quietude and that must have cost Meghan Markle’s mother a lot: during her shock interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, the Duchess of Sussex made a point of paying tribute to her mother and her ability to “remain quiet with dignity for four years”, while she saw her daughter suffering. Because, as her relatives say, this did not prevent her from being “very worried” about Meghan, and from being “relieved that her daughter made her mental health and well-being the priority”.
The decision to leave the royal family was therefore welcomed by Doria Ragland: “Doria really wants us to be true to ourselves, so she will continue to encourage Meghan to choose ‘the road less traveled’ “. This has also allowed the California resident to live closer to her daughter, or at least on the same continent, and to deepen her ties with other family members, to the benefit of all. For former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond, “Harry seems to have an absolutely great relationship with Doria. And there’s no doubt that Meghan and Doria are now closer geographically, physically, and perhaps emotionally than they’ve ever been,” she analyzes in the documentary ‘Secrets of the Royals – The Markles vs. The Monarchy. A road less traveled, but which seems to be the one that suits them.
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