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What is Meghan Markle's ethnicity? Duchess tells Oprah Winfrey about shocking skin color bias in royal family

During the interview, Meghan revealed that while she was pregnant with Archie, unidentified royals had 'concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he is born'

All eyes are on the former Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, as she and her husband, Prince Harry, have now been interviewed by Oprah Winfrey. Now everyone wants to know what was Meghan's life like before meeting Prince Harry and what is her actual family background?

Meghan, 39, was born on August 4, 1981. Her full name was actually Rachel Meghan Markle, interestingly Rachel was also the name of her character on TV series 'Suits' which catapulted her to fame. She was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Since she was five, she was educated at private schools, first at Hollywood Little Red Schoolhouse and later at Immaculate Heart High School, an all-girl, private Catholic school in Los Angeles.

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On Sunday, March 7, during the CBS interview when Oprah asked Harry about the conversations he'd had with the royal family about Archie when Meghan was pregnant and about concerns surrounding their son's race he declined, saying "I'm not comfortable with sharing that." "But it was right at the beginning," he added. "What will the kids look like? That was at the beginning when she wasn't going to get security when my family suggested that she might continue acting (because there wasn't going to be money for her)." Oprah then asked: If you had had more support, would you still be there? "Without question," Harry responded. But "I know and I'm comfortable in knowing that we did everything we could to make it work."

During the interview, Meghan also revealed that while she was pregnant with Archie, unidentified royals had “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he is born.” The comments, Meghan said, were made to Harry and relayed to her by her husband. But Meghan declined to say who in the royal family voiced those concerns, saying “I think that would be very damaging to them.” 

She also claimed that she had suicidal thoughts before the couple’s break from the royal family. Oprah asked if Meghan had had suicidal thoughts and the duchess replied with 'Yes'. Markle described attending an event with Harry at Royal Albert Hall after Harry told her that, given her state of mind, that he thought she shouldn’t go with him. “I don’t think I can be left alone,” Meghan had told her husband.

What is Meghan's ethnicity?

Meghan's mother Doria Ragland, a yoga instructor and social worker and father Thomas divorced when she was just six. Thomas worked as a TV lighting director on iconic American shows including 'Married With Children' and 'General Hospital'. Meghan describes her parents as "coming from little" but they were able to privately educate her in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles. Doria is an 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. 

Meghan's family has long-standing ties to Chattanooga, Doria was born in Ohio and grew up in California. The 61-year-old was born in Ohio, to parents who were a nurse and an antique dealer. The family later moved to Los Angeles, where Doria attended Fairfax High School. The Times Free-Press reported that “Alvin Ragland is Markle’s maternal grandfather. He was born in Chattanooga around 1930, according to Chattanooga’s 1930 Census. At age 14, he worked as a hotel porter downtown.”

With a Black mother and White father, Meghan's ethnicity has never been far away from discussions about her relationship with Queen Elizabeth's grandson — scrutiny that has often been unwelcome. In late 2016 when he first announced they were dating, Harry issued a rare rebuke to the press, condemning the racial undertones of articles. One commentator had written how Meghan would bring "rich and exotic DNA" to the Windsors.

In an article for Elle magazine in 2016, Meghan wrote: “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."

Racism against Meghan has also been opposed by several people on the Internet who opposed the racial biases suffered by her. One Internet user said: "I’d rather be a yank than a racist and hateful person. If you asked the majority of people who attack Meghan Markle why they don’t like her, they couldn’t give you a real reason." And some supported the royal family saying, "No, England is much less racist than the US. I am listening to Markle and they may have treated her badly because she was nasty and demanding and maybe they did not respect her “entitlement” attitude. Does not mean they are racist. she was just a spoiled brat."

Slamming the British Royal family and Meghan in one breath, another one tweeted, "Obviously the British Royal family are insane racists, they’re ten thousand year old aristocrats. Equally obviously Meghan Markle is kind of a fame hound." While one said: "If you call diana “the people’s princess,” but shame meghan markle then you’re f*cking racist"

These remarks were made by the Internet and individual organizations, MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and nor does it support these claims being made on the Internet.