Meghan Markle is officially engaged to Prince Harry, which means that she's about to become part of what is possibly the most famous family in the world. While many of us know plenty about Prince Harry's grandmother, his beloved late mother, his brother Prince William, and even his niece and nephew, the world is much less familiar with Markle's family members. In light of the recent royal engagement, it's time royal family fans begin to learn more about the actress's own family, and who better to start with than Prince Harry's soon to be mother-in-law, Doria Ragland.
Ragland wears a lot of hats. In addition to being mother to Markle, she's also a social worker. According to an Instagram post Markle shared in honour of Mother's Day last year, her mom has a masters in social work from the University of Southern California, and the Sun recently reported that she works at Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services in the Los Angeles area. That's not all, the Sun reported that Ragland is a yoga instructor as well.
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Markle first introduced her mother to Prince Harry at the closing ceremony of the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto on September 30. This was nearly a year after Markle began dating the Prince, but still, the introduction was significant, and it took place on the same night that the couple was seen kissing in public for the very first time.
Despite not knowing her for long, People reports that Prince Harry was still sure to ask Ragland for her blessing before proposing to Markle. According to UsWeekly, after the news of the engagement broke, Ragland put out a joint statement of congratulations with Markle's father, whom she divorced when their daughter was six-years-old. In the statement, the proud parents said, "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." When the engagement was announced, Ragland was at her home in the L.A. neighbourhood of Windsor Hills, with security detail outside just in case, according to the Daily Mail.
Ragland is African American, while Markle's father is white. Because she is mixed race, with lighter skin than her mother's, Markle said in a 2015 essay for Elle Magazine, that growing up, many people assumed Ragland was her nanny, rather than her mom. In the essay, Markle also wrote about hearing her mother be called the N-word for the first time. Despite these horrific experiences, though, she explained that she has grown to embrace her identity as bi-racial, writing, "To say who I am, to share where I'm from, to voice my pride in being a strong, confident mixed-race woman."
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