The Tragedy Of Meghan Markle's Mother Doria Ragland Is So Sad

The following includes references to suicidal ideation.

Doria Ragland could hardly have imagined life would place her in the world's most famous royal family. While rubbing shoulders with the late Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III sounds like a dream come true to many, Ragland's experience was far from idyllic. When her daughter, Meghan Markle, married Prince Harry in May 2018, Ragland had little option but to sit back and watch as the world painted whatever picture it wanted of her only child.

But she did her best to support her daughter while remaining in the background. She drew the courage from a lifetime of adversities, which imparted on her the resilience to face any situation head-on. Still, Ragland felt powerless as  Meghan's mental health declined amid the attacks she faced in the British media and the royal family's lack of support. In Meghan and Harry's bombshell interview with Oprah in March 2021, she revealed she went so far as to contemplate suicide.

Ragland was desperate in light of what seemed like an impossible situation. "I knew that it was bad, but to just be constantly picked at by these vultures, just picking away at her spirit, that she would actually think of not wanting to be here, that's not an easy one for a mom to hear," she revealed in the 2022 Netflix documentary, "Harry & Meghan," (via Hello!). This wasn't the first tragedy Ragland faced in her life. From losing both of her parents in unfortunate circumstances to facing racism, she knows a thing or two about hardship.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

Doria Ragland's father died when he was 82, but despite his advanced age, his death was completely unexpected. Alvin Ragland had been walking his dogs in March 2011 when he suffered a fall after his legs got tangled in the leash. He was hospitalized with a brain injury that required surgery and died nine days later, the Daily Mail reported. Neighbors found him in front of his home in the Los Angeles suburb of View Park-Windsor Hills around noon.

The coroner ruled his death an accident. "Foul play is not suspected," the report read. Doria inherited her father's home, where she had already been living to care for him, according to Hello!. Alvin's tragic death hit the family hard, including Meghan Markle. "Meghan loved her grandfather very much and he absolutely loved her. He would have loved to have seen her fall in love and marry Prince Harry and she would have loved him to live to see it too," a source told the Daily Mail.

Alvin was an antiques dealer who hauled secondhand items around in an old El Camino to sell at the Melrose Trading Post. Described as a bigger-than-life presence, he drew affection everywhere he went thanks to his quirkiness and friendly personality. "He was such nice guy though, amazing. He was just the nicest man ever, just jolly, always happy and very friendly. He would talk to anybody, he was always laughing," a former fellow vendor told the outlet. 

A decade before she lost her father, Doria Ragland had already experienced the loss of a parent. Jeanette Ragland (seen above) died two days after Christmas in December 2000 at the age of 71, when Doria was 44. Jeanette had suffered a stroke that left her debilitated. She and her mother had been close, with their affection being obvious even to a young Meghan Markle. In recalling afternoons during visits with her grandmothers, Markle highlighted Doria's caretaking role toward the matriarchs.

"My mom rubbing their feet to help with circulation, brushing the hair so gently when they couldn't do it on their own. Kissing them goodbye, and cradling their faces with such tenderness at each visit that their eyes sparkled with tears," Meghan penned in a 2014 entry in her now-defunct lifestyle blog The Tig (via Marie Claire). She internalized her mother's behavior, replicating it after Jeanette's health declined. "Meghan would sit there, talk to her, hold her hand, cook for her and take care of her — whatever she could to bring comfort. She loved her grandmother," Doria's brother, Joseph Johnson, told the Daily Mail in 2017.

Her experience with the loss of her mother later helped Doria connect to her son-in-law, Prince Harry. "She has become a rock to Harry who, of course, lost his own mother so young," a source told the Daily Mail in 2020, adding that while Doria has a strong maternal side, "she isn't someone who seeks attention, and for Harry her discretion and silence mean the world."

While born in Ohio, Doria Ragland moved to Los Angeles when she was still a baby. But after moving to the San Fernando Valley area following her wedding to Thomas Markle, she discovered a different side of the city she grew up in. "They moved into a house in The Valley in LA, to a neighborhood that was leafy and affordable. What it was not, however, was diverse," Meghan Markle wrote in a 2015 Elle U.K. essay. Suddenly, Ragland became much more aware of her race.

That reality was exacerbated after she welcomed her daughter. "And there was my mom, caramel in complexion with her light-skinned baby in tow, being asked where my mother was since they assumed she was the nanny," Meghan continued. It didn't happen once or twice. Meghan grew up hearing about how much it affected Ragland. "I just remember my mom telling me stories about taking me to the grocery store and women going, 'Whose child is that? You must be the ...' She's like, 'It's my child,'" Meghan recalled in "Harry & Meghan" (via People).

Sometimes, the racism wasn't subtle, either. Meghan was with Ragland when she was overtly attacked after honking in a parking lot. "And the woman turned around and screamed the N-word at my mom," she said. Ragland drove back home in silence, something she now regrets. "I would like to go back and have that kind of real conversation about how the world sees you," she shared. 

Doria Ragland's marriage to Thomas Markle produced her only child, but it was no smooth sailing. The recollections of Thomas' son from his previous marriage, Meghan Markle's estranged brother Thomas Markle Jr., painted a disturbing picture. "Some of my dad and Doria's fights were pretty horrendous, pretty loud, a lot of yelling and screaming," he told InTouch in 2018. "I didn't really want to listen to it. I pretty much blocked it out," he said.

However, he felt unnerved that his young half-sister had to witness it all. "Especially with Meghan in the house. I didn't really want to be there," he added. Thomas Jr. believes some of their issues may have roots in his father's own sketchy ways. According to him, Thomas Sr. often traveled to Thailand to engage in sex tourism, something he didn't learn until much later when his dad bragged about it to him. "It was disturbing and I didn't want to discuss it any further with him," he said.

In hindsight, he concluded Doria may have found out about her then-husband's true reasons for traveling to Southeast Asia. "Judging by their fighting and arguing, maybe she found out, but that's just speculation," he told InTouch in a separate article. Thomas Sr. denied his son's accusations. In his version of their divorce, he and Doria simply grew apart. "It went well for a while but I wasn't home enough. Doria had other interests as well," he said in the 2020 documentary "Thomas Markle: My Story" (via Express).