When Prince Harry and Meghan first announced their move back to the UK, our first thoughts were along the lines of “What about Doria Ragland? And what about the rescue chickens?” As it turned out, Doria, the chickens and the koi are all staying in California, but sources claim that Meghan “plans to see her mom regularly” and they’re “incredibly close.” I still say that Doria should have been used as an “excuse” this whole time – circa 2019, that’s what they could have said, “Meghan wants to be closer to her mom.” Meghan also should have used Doria, now 70 years old, as an excuse to skip this “move back to England” crap too, but you didn’t hear that from me. Anyway, Rob Shuter has a new Captain Obvious piece on his Substack: Doria tried to warn Meghan about the UK move this summer.
Meghan Markle may be embracing her new chapter in Britain, but sources tell Naughty But Nice that one person had serious reservations about the move from the start: her fiercely protective mother, Doria Ragland.
Doria, who turned 70 Wednesday, remains in California after Meghan, Prince Harry, Archie and Lilibet relocated to the UK last week — and insiders say she warned her daughter that returning could reopen painful wounds.
“Doria told Meghan to think very carefully before moving back,” a family source tells Naughty But Nice. “She watched what Britain did to her daughter the first time. She saw the pressure, the criticism and the toll it took. She’s terrified history will repeat itself.”
There has been no falling out. Meghan and Doria remain extremely close. But sources say the protective mom wasn’t going to stay silent simply because Meghan had made up her mind.
“Doria loves Meghan enough to tell her what she doesn’t want to hear,” says the source. “Meghan believes she’s stronger now and can make Britain work on her own terms. Doria desperately wants her to be right.”
The biggest heartbreak, however, may be Archie and Lilibet.
“Those grandchildren are Doria’s world,” adds the insider. “A few weeks ago they were close enough to hug. Now there’s an ocean between them. That’s devastating.”
Still, Doria is supporting Meghan’s decision.
“She isn’t rooting against Meghan,” says the source. “She’s protecting her. That’s what mothers do.”
Yeah, I believe all of this. Doria absolutely saw what those people did to Meghan and Doria heard what they said about her grandchildren. I know what my own mother would have said in this situation and it would have been a real “hard truths” moment which would have left me in tears (along the lines of “they’re never going to change and they’ll try to finish what they started in 2018”). That being said, maybe Doria knows something we don’t, like the date of their “hard exit” from Britain. At least that’s what I hope – that this bulls–t is not open-ended, that Meghan has only signed on to a year of this mess.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Meghan’s Instagram and Netflix.
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- Meghan Markle and her mother, Doria Ragland, arriving at Cliveden House Hotel on the National Trust’s Cliveden Estate to spend the night before her wedding to Prince Harry.,Image: 515239971, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR SEVEN DAYS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
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- Meghan Markle and her mother, Doria Ragland, arriving at Cliveden House Hotel on the National Trust’s Cliveden Estate to spend the night before her wedding to Prince Harry.,Image: 515240003, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR SEVEN DAYS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
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- Meghan Markle and her mother Doria Ragland leave Cliveden House Hotel to make the journey to Windsor Castle for her wedding to Prince Harry,Image: 515241721, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR SEVEN DAYS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
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- Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (C) arrives with her mother, Doria Ragland (L) and Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex to host an event to mark the launch of a cookbook with recipes from a group of women affected by the Grenfell Tower fire at Kensington Palace in London on September 20, 2018.,Image: 534009123, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR SEVEN DAYS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
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- Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (C) arrives with her mother, Doria Ragland (L) and Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex to host an event to mark the launch of a cookbook with recipes from a group of women affected by the Grenfell Tower fire at Kensington Palace in London on September 20, 2018.,Image: 534009147, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR SEVEN DAYS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
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- MANDATORY CREDIT: Chris Allerton – copyright SussexRoyal NEWS EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO COMMERCIAL USE. NO MERCHANDISING, ADVERTISING, SOUVENIRS, MEMORABILIA or COLOURABLY SIMILAR. NOT FOR USE AFTER FRIDAY JUNE 7, 2019, WITHOUT PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM ROYAL COMMUNICATIONS AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE. This photograph is provided to you strictly on condition that these conditions and restrictions will apply (and that you will pass these on) to any organisation to whom you supply it. There shall be no commercial use whatsoever of the photographs (including by way of example only) any use in merchandising, advertising or any other non-news editorial use. The photograph must not be digitally enhanced, manipulated or modified in any manner or form and must include all of the individuals in the photograph when published. All other requests for use should be directed to the Buckingham Palace Press Office in writing. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are joined by her mother, Doria Ragland, as they show their new son, born Monday and named as Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, to the Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle.
