Meghan Markle has a close relationship with her mother, Doria Ragland, who turned 70 on Sept. 2

NEED TO KNOW

• Meghan Markle and her mother, Doria Ragland, share a close bond
• Ragland has been a supportive presence in Meghan’s life, including her acting career, royal wedding and motherhood milestones
• The two have also reflected on Meghan’s childhood

Meghan Markle has a special relationship with her mother, Doria Ragland.

The Duchess of Sussex was born to Ragland and her then-husband, Thomas Markle, in 1981 and was raised in Los Angeles. When her parents divorced in 1987, she split time between them and she said they “co-parented well” in the Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan.

However, Meghan’s relationship with Thomas became strained in the lead-up to her May 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, after he staged paparazzi photos and spoke with the tabloid media. The two ultimately became estranged, and Thomas later admitted to regretting his actions.

Meghan and her mother have since embarked on several major milestones together. Ragland escorted Meghan to her nuptials and has been a presence in both of her grandchildren’s — Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet — lives.

“Meghan draws a lot of strength from her mother. Doria is classy, chic and confident, but not unapproachable,” Meghan’s longtime friend and makeup artist Daniel Martin told PEOPLE in May 2018. “I definitely feel Meghan gets a lot of that from her mother.”

On Sept. 2, Ragland marked a major milestone when she turned 70 years old. Meghan has previously wished her “beautiful” mother happy birthdays over the years.

As Doria Ragland turns 70, take a look back at nine photos of her with her daughter, Meghan Markle.

01 of 09

Reflecting on her upbringing

Meghan and Ragland both reflected on living in L.A. together in the 2022 Netflix documentary, Harry & Meghan.

In one emotional moment, Meghan spoke about growing up as biracial and hearing racist remarks directed toward Ragland — including one incident when a stranger called her mother the N-word.

“My mom honked her horn, this woman was taking a long time to figure out how to get out, and the woman turned around and screamed the N-word at my mom,” Meghan shared.

“I just remember my mom, the grip that her hands had on the steering wheel,” she continued. “You could it was so tight, like the knuckles get all white, and she was just silent the rest of the drive home. We never talked about it.”

Meghan also discussed being biracial and not having a “talk” about her race with her mother, which Ragland said she regrets.

“As a parent, in hindsight, absolutely, I would like to go back and have that kind of real conversation about how the world sees you,” Ragland said.

02 of 09

Growing up in Los Angeles

While raising her daughter in L.A., Ragland signed Meghan up for the Girl Scouts and was involved with her troop.

Meghan later spoke to PEOPLE about the importance of the organization and experiencing a full-circle moment with her own daughter.

“Funny enough, on Lili’s first day of pre-K, one of the moms came up to me at drop-off, and I realized we were in our troop together!” Meghan shared. “It was so sweet and nostalgic.”

Meghan went on to attend Immaculate Heart high school and Northwestern University before returning to L.A. to pursue acting.

Many years later, Harry and Meghan’s company Archewell Productions co-produced a 2026 documentary on the Girl Scouts called Cookie Queens.

03 of 09

Supporting Meghan’s rise to fame

Ragland has often been by Meghan’s side throughout her career.

After appearing in various hosting and acting gigs, Meghan had her breakout role in the legal drama series Suits, in which she portrayed Rachel Zane from 2011 to 2018.

While rising to fame, Meghan also launched her philanthropic endeavors and got involved in various organizations supporting women’s social justice efforts.

Meghan brought her mom to the UN Women’s 20th Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference of Women on March 10, 2015.

04 of 09

One last night before becoming royals

After a little more than a year of dating, Harry and Meghan announced their engagement in London in November 2017. The couple planned their nuptials for May 19, 2018, and Meghan spent one last night alone with her mother the night before.

Meghan and Ragland were photographed smiling while arriving to Cliveden House Hotel on the National Trust’s Cliveden Estate on May 18.

Earlier in the evening, Ragland met Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip for the first time at Windsor Castle.

05 of 09

Sending Meghan off to wed

Harry and Meghan got married at St. George’s Chapel on May 19, 2018.

Prior to saying “I do,” Meghan was escorted by her mother to the chapel in a red Rolls-Royce. The two were photographed waving to well wishers on their way to the aisle.

Ragland wore a pale green dress and coat designed by the creative directors of Oscar de la Renta, Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim. Meanwhile, Meghan turned heads in a Givenchy gown designed by British designer Clare Waight Keller.

06 of 09

Helping out with royal duties

Just a few months after Meghan officially joined the British royal family, she embraced her duties at an event supporting women who were victims of the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire.

Ragland, her daughter and son-in-law all attended an event to celebrate the launch of a cookbook with recipes from the group of women at Kensington Palace on Sept. 20, 2018.

07 of 09

A night out with her daughter and son-in-law

After two years of marriage, Harry and Meghan announced they intended to step back as senior working members of the royal family and would be splitting their time between the U.K. and North America. They eventually settled in Montecito, Calif., not too far from where Meghan was raised.

Although they stepped back from royal duties, Meghan and Harry continued supporting various philanthropic efforts.

On May 16, 2023, Harry and Meghan were joined by Ragland at the Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awards: Celebrating Generations of Progress & Power at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City, where Meghan accepted the Woman of Vision Award.

08 of 09

Meghan celebrating her “beautiful” mother

Meghan celebrated her mom’s 69th birthday on Sept. 2, 2025, by posting a boomerang of herself smiling while kissing her mom on the cheek.

“Happy Birthday to my beautiful mom!” she captioned the Instagram Stories tribute.

09 of 09

A doing grandmother to her grandkids

Meghan and Harry became parents on May 6, 2019, when they welcomed son Prince Archie in London.

Ragland was there for the baby’s birth and was “overjoyed by the arrival of her first grandchild,” per a statement from the royal family.

Two days after the then-youngest royal was born, he met his great-grandparents, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Meghan and Harry met with the senior royals and Ragland at Windsor Castle on May 8.

The couple expanded their family two years later when they welcomed daughter Princess Lilibet on June 4, 2021.

The family of four celebrated Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet’s birthdays by venturing to Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., in May 2026. Ragland also got in on the fun by meeting Mickey Mouse.

“They were celebrating the kids’ birthdays together,” a source told PEOPLE at the time. “The kids did lots of rides, and it was a special way to extend Mother’s Day for Meghan and her mom.”

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