Queen invites Meghan Markle’s mum Doria to spend Christmas with royal family in offer never extended to Kate’s relatives
Meghan Markle's mother Doria Ragland could be invited to Sandringham to spend Christmas with the Queen and the royal family, The Sunday Express reports. The Queen is said to have asked Doria Ragland, 62, to join them for the family's first Christmas since Harry and Meghan's wedding as a "mark of her respect" for the Duchess. An emotional Doria was the only member of Meghan's family to attend her wedding to Prince Harry at Windsor Castle in May.
A source said it was a "very thoughtful gesture" for the pregnant Duchess's mother to be invited, although an unusual one, as an invitation for Doria would break with royal precedent considering even the Middleton family has never been invited to stay at the Norfolk estate, the Sunday Express reported.
“It’s a mark of the Queen’s respect for Meghan and an acknowledgment that she doesn’t have any other relations in this country," the source told Express, before adding, "unlike Kate who has the support of a very close family.”
Doria is known to be very close to Meghan and is said to even be planning a return to London to help with her new grandchild in the New Year. The 62-year-old from Cleveland, Ohio, has been described by the Duchess of Sussex as a "free-spirited clinical therapist" who often took her traveling to remote places when she was younger.
Doria said she was thrilled at Meghan's pregnancy, saying she was "very happy about this lovely news and is looking forward to welcoming her first grandchild."
Her relationship with the Royal Family marks a strong contrast to that with Meghan's dad, Thomas Markle. The 74-year-old former lighting director has courted controversy over multiple interviews he has given over Meghan and the Royal Family. He was due to walk his daughter down the aisle earlier this May but pulled out after revealing he had suffered a heart problem.
