Meghan Markle: Family and Background - November 2017-May 2018

[Rudolph]

Once the wedding is over he’ll be forgotten. The press will leave him alone.

[Lady Reem]

Deleted double post

[Zonk]

Posts questioning the sincerity of Meghan's relationship with her mother (as well as subsequent posts) have been deleted as speculative.

[Rudolph]

It would probably be a lot different for Meghan’s parents if they lived in the U.K.

The fact they live in America makes it a lot easier imo. We really don’t see many photos of them. Yes there’s stories but I mean that’s not the same as a photographer stalking you.

Once the wedding is over, Meghan’s parents can resume their normal lives.

[Grandma828]

In an article published in Oct 2017 a genealogists stated that one of Meghan's ancestors was listed as a mulatto on the us census. If that is true Megan is more than half white.

[Osipi]

I don't think it makes a difference at all. Barack Obama has Irish ancestry.

[ACO]

Originally Posted by Grandma828

In an article published in Oct 2017 a genealogists stated that one of Meghan's ancestors was listed as a mulatto on the us census. If that is true Megan is more than half white.

A lot of black people have "mulattos" in the ancestry. My great great grandfather was biracial and my brother is a dark skinned black man. Meghan's mother is AA with two dark completion parents. Meghan's father is white. She is considered biracial in that regard.

[Gawin]

On his mother's side Barack Obama has English, Irish and German ancestry. He is in fact related to several other U.S. presidents.

But his black ancestors weren't slaves (his father was from Kenya). Meghan Markle's black ancestors were slaves, at least some of them. Unfortunately, female slaves were often forced into sexual relationships with their white masters or other white men. One study estimates that the average African-American is 73.2% African, 24.0% European, and 0.8% Native American.

http://www.cell.com/ajhg/fulltext/S0002-9297(14)00476-5

So Meghan's mother Doria may very well have some European ancestry.

[Osipi]

That's really interesting. When you stop and think about it, we're all a big box of crayons in different hues and shades and colorful mixtures of other colors.

One thing is certain though. We all came out of Africa 200,000 years ago and descended from "Lucy".

[Gawin]

This is getting OT (sorry) but Barack Obama is a descendant of Edward I and his first wife Eleanor of Castile. So this means he is a very distant cousin of the Queen, William, Catherine, Harry, and Meghan, who all descend from Edward & Eleanor too.

So if the Obamas are invited to the wedding they will be attending as family as well as friends!

[Osipi]

We're all related to each other somewhere back through the annals of time. Its just how far back we need to go to find the connection. To be totally and really unique, its to be of European descent and *not* related to Charlemagne in any way.

I think we'd be wise to return the thread to discussin Meghan's *immediate* family and background which I think was the intent of this thread.

[AlowVera]

Originally Posted by Grandma828

In an article published in Oct 2017 a genealogists stated that one of Meghan's ancestors was listed as a mulatto on the us census. If that is true Megan is more than half white.

Usually most African American's are about 20% European heritage. For example Michelle Obama has a white ancestor similar to Doria.

[Pranter]

I remember when Tyra Banks was on one of those geneology shows and they said she had like 4 or 5 percent Native American in her mix, which evidently was quite higher than normal.

I love those shows. History and geneology is fascinating to me.


LaRae

[Osipi]

Actually, I just had my DNA tested for my ethnic background as I was adopted at three weeks old. I am 55% Irish (Connacht area which is where my adopted dad's family comes from), 18% British, 11% Finnish/Northwest Russian and 6% Western Europe with a smidge of the Iberian peninsula/Scandinavia/South Europe.

This shows my ethnicity but has has absolutely no relationship to my family. Those, to me, are two totally different concepts. I may have ties somewhere to Sabina Coyne-Higgins – wife of the ninth President of Ireland, who comes from the area, but I would never go as far to claim her as "family".

People have their ethnicity and their family and those two things are completely different things.

[Pranter]

I've been wanting to do that DNA thing too..just haven't yet. 2 members of my husbands family have done it though and it's pretty neat.


LaRae

[Ish]

Posts ignoring an earlier Moderator note have been deleted. Further posts questioning the sincerity of Meghan's relationship with her mother will be deleted without notice.

Posts debating the sincerity of Meghan's conversion to Anglicanism have been deleted as off topic.

[Gawin]

Originally Posted by Osipi

People have their ethnicity and their family and those two things are completely different things.

I agree wholeheartedly.

To me the fact that Barack Obama, Meghan Markle, and the BRF all descend from the same person is important only because it shows how silly and artificial our racial distinctions are. Some of Obama's opponents tried to paint him as the "other" because of his race and I see the same thing happening now to Meghan. I'm appalled by some of the comments I've read about her on other websites.

In the past I've used Obama's genealogical relationship to the BRF and other U.S. presidents to refute that "otherness" garbage.

And even if we set his European ancestry aside (and Meghan's too), as you point out we are all descendants of "Lucy." African, European, Asian, whatever, the genetic connection is there.

I love history and I'm fascinated at how science - DNA testing included - helps us understand the past more clearly and set aside our misconceptions.

[MaiaMia_53]

Originally Posted by AlowVera

If he does not walk her down the aisle, perhaps they can have him at the wedding privately and discreetly. The British press are vultures and have done all they can to harass both her mother and her father. Perhaps Meghan can just walk herself down the aisle?

She could if she so chooses. However, if not her father, then her mother. And she has plenty of other relative and friend options as well, which I outlined in a previous post.

[Lady Nimue]

I've been absent from the forums for a (short) bit, but long or short it's always hard to catch up on all the postings. So I am not up-to-date on why Meghan's father's presence at the wedding is being questioned. Something to do with his health? But not sure why that got floated as a point of discussion.

Anyway, if the question regarding his presence is valid I think Prince Charles would be a great substitute.

I could be wrong (of course) but it's possible Meghan's mother may not want such a front-and-center role, either. I could see both parents declining and for very sensible reasons. Meghan may be entering the royal fish bowl, but they are definitely not. They are not British subjects, and have very modest and ordinary lives. They likely would want to support Meghan in every way but participating in this massive elevation in public status may not be anything they want to wrangle, and understandably. Meghan is making this choice for herself alone.

This is not to say her parents would not attend, just not choose to be part of the panoply. This is so far beyond walking one's daughter down the aisle at the village church. Neither parent is interested in the spotlight, that is clear. The wedding is pageantry for the masses, let it be within the confines of that world, with Prince Charles as the escort, leaving her parents the comfort of not having to 'perform'. Just some thoughts.

[MaiaMia_53]

Originally Posted by AlowVera

Usually most African American's are about 20% European heritage. For example Michelle Obama has a white ancestor similar to Doria.

It's just human race after all. Humankind migrated out of Africa and skin colors mutated to very pale in the cold European climate in order to survive (and receive Vitamin D from the sun). We forget that ancient humans were much more exposed to the elements than we are familiar with in this day and age.

Therefore so-called 'white ancestors' also evolved from so-called 'black ancestors.' In the ancient world, it was more about tribes, and not about being hung up on skin color. Ancient Europeans who migrated out of Africa even intermixed with Neanderthals prior to the Neanderthals completely dying out since humans were more evolved and had larger brains. Science knows this due to advances in DNA technology.

I don't know whether there are hard and fast statistics regarding percentages of European blood in African-Americans. It surely depends, unless there are definitive studies that have been conducted. The percentages can fluctuate from 10% European to 20%, to 30% and in some instances to 40% from what I've heard. Again, there are no hard and fast statistics that I'm aware of.