The Duchess of Sussex: Family and Background

[ACO]

Morgon? Piers? No way. It was smart she distanced herself from that weasel. His existence is bad PR.

As for the custody stuff. It’s just a technicality. Unless something dramatic occurs, it’s clearly not enforced. There is no need for it. The parents raise their kids who they want with reason of the monarchy.

Thomas Markle has zero rights.

 

[Mbruno]

I would be very surprised if Doria isn't close to any children Meghan and Harry would have.

Why ? As far as I know, Doria is not even close to her daughter. How often did they see each other in the past years prior to Meghan's second wedding for example ? And Doria still lives physically very far apart from the Sussexes.

An important point I am trying to get across here is that a royal family is not like an ordinary American middle-class family. In the old days, royal children traditionally lived a secluded life. That is not exactly the case today as royals go to "normal" schools and have "normal" friends, but it is still unrealistic to expect them to have the same proximity to non-royal grandparents as they have to the royal family properly.

 

[Marlo]

Why ? As far as I know, Doria is not even close to her daughter. How often did they see each other in the past years prior to Meghan's second wedding for example ? And Doria still lives physically very far apart from the Sussexes.

An important point I am trying to get accross here is that a royal family is not like an ordinary American middle-class family. In the old days, royal children traditionally lived a secluded life. That is not exactly the case today as royals go to "normal" schools and have "normal" friends, but it is still unrealistic to expect them to have the same proximity to non-royal grandparents as they have to the royal family properly.

Doria is not even close to her daughter? How do you know? Get your fact straight. Have you ever heard of Skype and FaceTime?

 

[Osipi]

But I do feel Meghan made a mistake cutting off Morgan. It wouldn't have taken much to keep him on her side, and he could have helped with the PR.

Let's look at it this way. On one hand, here's Meghan deeply in love with Harry and deciding to marry and have a permanent partnership through life. One of the things Harry would have been adamant about from the very first is one doesn't talk to the press.

On the other hand, there's Piers Morgan who isn't exactly renown for his professional journalistic skills. He met Meghan once because he was a Suits fan.

Which one makes the most sense to choose? Its not rocket science.

 

[AlowVera]

Let's look at it this way. On one hand, here's Meghan deeply in love with Harry and deciding to marry and have a permanent partnership through life. One of the things Harry would have been adamant about from the very first is one doesn't talk to the press.

On the other hand, there's Piers Morgan who isn't exactly renown for his professional journalistic skills. He met Meghan once because he was a Suits fan.

Which one makes the most sense to choose? Its not rocket science.

I think this illustrates how Meghan said she did not have the same understanding of what royalty is in the UK. Had Meghan truly been the royal watcher as some have accused her of being she would never have communicated with Morgan in the first place. To Americans Morgan was the replacement for Larry King who was a respected talk show host. We did not know about the News Of the World scandal that affected Prince Harry. I'm sure that once Harry let her know about Morgan she rightly saw what a conflict of interest it would be and cut off ties with Morgan very smart move in deed.

 

[Cocoasneeze]

Why ? As far as I know, Doria is not even close to her daughter. How often did they see each other in the past years prior to Meghan's second wedding for example ? And Doria still lives physically very far apart from the Sussexes.

An important point I am trying to get across here is that a royal family is not like an ordinary American middle-class family. In the old days, royal children traditionally lived a secluded life. That is not exactly the case today as royals go to "normal" schools and have "normal" friends, but it is still unrealistic to expect them to have the same proximity to non-royal grandparents as they have to the royal family properly.

The thing is though, we have no clue how often Doria and Meghan see each other, and that's how it should be. Meghan and Doria don't need to tell anyone when meet up, call each other, face time etc. And just because we have no knowledge of how often they see each other, doesn't mean they aren't close.

I'm actually a bit weirded out about speculation who will and won't be close to Meghan and Harry's children, when she isn't even pregnant yet.

 

[ACO]

Why ? As far as I know, Doria is not even close to her daughter. How often did they see each other in the past years prior to Meghan's second wedding for example ? And Doria still lives physically very far apart from the Sussexes.

An important point I am trying to get across here is that a royal family is not like an ordinary American middle-class family. In the old days, royal children traditionally lived a secluded life. That is not exactly the case today as royals go to "normal" schools and have "normal" friends, but it is still unrealistic to expect them to have the same proximity to non-royal grandparents as they have to the royal family properly.

Huh? Mother and daughter traveled plenty to see each other. All you had to do was look at her IG and see the many pictures of them together with her friends, on the set of Suits, video chatting, etc. They live in different countries and have their own lives but how does that equal they are not close?

I agree the royal family are different but again not sure why that means Doria won't have a close relationship with her future grandchildren. The press have no idea how close Harry is to anyone. We learned just how important it was for Harry to have Meghan immediately meet his mother's family and friends in the engagement interview. Let the press tell it and they think Harry & William never interact with the Spencers. Also Harry and Meghan said themselves they spent a lot of time with Doria. In those video/pictures from IG, it didn't look like it was the 1st interaction between Harry and his girlfriend's mother.

This week proves how easy it is for the Sussexes to travel around without being seen. The press had them in London, Italy, LA, Scotland, and Toronto. Doria could have been in London for a week and we might not even have known. You don't have to see people face to face to be close. I talk to my sister every day and we live 700 miles apart.

 

[jacqui24]

Why ? As far as I know, Doria is not even close to her daughter. How often did they see each other in the past years prior to Meghan's second wedding for example ? And Doria still lives physically very far apart from the Sussexes.

An important point I am trying to get across here is that a royal family is not like an ordinary American middle-class family. In the old days, royal children traditionally lived a secluded life. That is not exactly the case today as royals go to "normal" schools and have "normal" friends, but it is still unrealistic to expect them to have the same proximity to non-royal grandparents as they have to the royal family properly.

Huh? Since when is Doria not close to her daughter? We've seen photos of them in Toronto before both on just visiting Meghan and then again for IG, and Meghan obviously also went to LA when she can. Doria has also traveled to UK incognito before and have obviously spent a decent amount of time with Harry without any photos being leaked. Just because we don't see them spend time with each other, doesn't mean they don't. And what is the difference between them having visits from grandparent that lives abroad versus one that keeps a really busy schedule and travels a lot?

 

[Mbruno]

Huh? Since when is Doria not close to her daughter? We've seen photos of them in Toronto before both on just visiting Meghan and then again for IG, and Meghan obviously also went to LA when she can. Doria has also traveled to UK incognito before and have obviously spent a decent amount of time with Harry without any photos being leaked. Just because we don't see them spend time with each other, doesn't mean they don't. And what is the difference between them having visits from grandparent that lives abroad versus one that keeps a really busy schedule and travels a lot?

The Queen dorsn’t travel overseas anymore and, to be frank, Charles doesn’t do it quite often these days either as many international engagements have been outsourced to the Cambridges and Harry. Harry’s children will obviously spend summers in Balmoral and be with other members of the RF around Christmas and in other special occasions, or maybe on weekends as Beatrice, Eugenie and Edward’s children have done with their grandparents. There is no comparison really with the very limited amount of time , if any, that they will spend with Mrs Ragland and much less with her estranged husband, whom they will probably never see. Again, the RF is not your run-of-the-mill Anerican family.

And I stand by my perception. Meghan and Doria have seen each other only occasionally over the past 7 years or so. In fact, they haven’t seen each other since the wedding as far as I know. I have no reason to believe they are particularly close as the Middletons are to Kate for example, or the Westlings are to Daniel. Meghan herself is known to have told Harry that she “ never had a family” , whatever that means. Marrying into the RF should be a good opportunity for her to make a clean break with her past.

 

[Osipi]

First off, in order to be close to the children, there have to be children in the first place and everything before that is speculation and assumption.

On another note, we're veering into other kinds of discussions and that is perhaps due to the Markles being (gasp!) quiet for a day? Did Samantha contract laryngitis? Did Tom, Sr. take a staycation and locked his doors? Stay tuned.... it most likely won't last for long.

 

[Zonk]

My parents and I lived in two different continents for a while ( about 5 years too), but I saw them every year in the summer and around Christmas and New Year’s. Occasionally, they also visited me on Easter and in the fall or the spring. Meghan and Doria both lived in North America and Meghan, I suppose, had ample free time between seasons of her show. Again, I don’t follow her life because I am not interested, but it doesn’t seem to me that she made a great effort to be with her mother whenever she could and, vice-versa, Dioria didn’t either.

That is not the point of this thread too. Meghan may or may not be close to her mother, I don’t know really. What I am skeptical about is that her children will be close to her parents, or see them often, when there is no indication that is a plausible assumption.

And I guess that is why people are taking issue with your previous statements. You say you don't follow Meghan or had no previous interest with her and yet you make a blanket statement that she does not appear to be close to her mother when you simply don't know. People who have followed her have provided you of examples of when and where Meghan and her mother have been together despite living in two separate continents and yet you appear to make light of those statements.

As previously stated, many friends and families rely on social media (facebook, instagram, skype, etc.) to stay in touch. I know many of contemporaries whose parents have Facebooks accounts and are more knowledgeable about social media than I am because that's how they communicate with their grandchildren. So to say that Doria might not have a relationship with her daughter and her grandchildren because they live on two separate continents in 2018 is a disservice to all of those who have relationships with family members who don't live in the same time zone.'

Finally, as Meghan was essentially a private citizen prior to her marriage and Doria is a private citizen now, who knows what they do/or did/or will do 24 hours a day.

 

[CTchic]

As I said it just my opinion....

Re the Raglands being invited I read somewhere, maybe on this thread, that some of the Raglands were there but not up front with Doria

Does anyone know if they were or have links to pics?

I don't think any of them were there. We would have had pictures by now.

 

[Fros]

If you notice the limiting of photographers was noticed most at the stairs outside the chapel and the guest arrivals.

The pictures of the guest arrivals are terrible. Therr are actually not many photographers of the guests other than the celebrities. Many people in the fandom have noted how bad the pictures of the guest arrivals were.

The only reason we know a lot of people like some of the aristos and other close friends was because of social media.

The celebrities posed in front of the photographs while others just slipped in quietly behind them.

The only place IMO that truly suffered from Harry and Meghan limiting photographers at the wedding was the guest arrivals.

I have seen theories about how limiting photographers for guest arrivals might have been for privacy of the guests especially if any one from Meghan's family were there.

So the best we can say about any of the raglands being there is suspected but not confirmed.

I would like to remind everyone the only reason we we even suspect that Raglands might have been there is becauyan LA based journalist close to where the Raglands reside said they flew 1st class from LA a day or two before the wedding. It's also important to note that unlike the Markles I believe there is only 1 picture or 2 pictures of the Raglands that were suspected to be at the wedding in circulation and both are from many Maby years ago we wouldn't know what they looked like.

 

[Madame Verseau]

@Osipi - the reason for no new Markle meltdown could be the story of Meghan and Harry are not going to discuss Sr and that Meghan is not going to the US to meet Dad. That was the Holy Grail the gossip press was holding out for and they are finally realize the family reunion is not to happen or if it does it's not going be on the tabloids' terms. They've moved on to other stories about the Sussexes. Why the story about the Markles doing a reality show? The tabloids may have told them they are being cut off; they have no access to Meghan and the royals so they are of no value and a waste of money. The reality show is the last desperate attempt to hold on to 15 minutes of infamy. They'll surface again for milestones but they won't have as much impact.

 

[loonytick]

As previously stated, many friends and families rely on social media (facebook, instagram, skype, etc.) to stay in touch. I know many of contemporaries whose parents have Facebooks accounts and are more knowledgeable about social media than I am because that's how they communicate with their grandchildren. So to say that Doria might not have a relationship with her daughter and her grandchildren because they live on two separate continents in 2018 is a disservice to all of those who have relationships with family members who don't live in the same time zone.'

Finally, as Meghan was essentially a private citizen prior to her marriage and Doria is a private citizen now, who knows what they do/or did/or will do 24 hours a day.

Shoot, even before social media my aunt was closer to my grandmother than anyone else on earth even though they only saw each other in person every few years. They talked on the phone every day for at least an hour. Physical distance and emotional distance are two very different things. We can't assume to know one way or the other anything about Meghan's closeness to Doria other than what they've indicated, which is that they are on good terms and do seem to travel regularly to see each other.

As for an earlier statement here regarding royal children and their non-royal grandparents, there actually is quite a bit of evidence to refute the claim that the non-royal side of the family is held at arm's length.

In the documentaries made for QEII's 90th birthday, there was footage showing her as a girl of various ages enjoying the company of her mother's extended family at her maternal grandparents' home and she famously considered her maternal cousin, Margaret Rhodes, to be one of her closest companions. IIRC, her parents took in Margaret and a couple of other cousins from the Queen Mother's side in to live with them during WWII. In the next generation, Lord Mountbatten essentially served as paternal grandfather to Philip and Elizabeth's children, and Charles was famously close to him. Sophie's father doesn't get much press attention so you may not realize that he's actually around a lot. He's often at Ascot, for instance, and I'm pretty sure he's shown up in photos from Louise's carriage riding events. He was definitely with the kids waiting at the finish line of Sophie's big bike rally a couple of years ago, and the vibe between them was definitely a close one. Etc.

All that to say there's plenty of room in the royal way of doing things for Doria to have a close relationship with any children Meghan and Harry might have. We may not see much of it because it's none of our business, but there's not a tradition that would keep her out. And, for that matter, not a tradition that would block Tom, Sr. from having a relationship with his daughter or potential grandchildren...aside from the well-established and time-tested technique of not giving into bad behavior.

 

[Mirabel]

@Osipi - the reason for no new Markle meltdown could be the story of Meghan and Harry are not going to discuss Sr and that Meghan is not going to the US to meet Dad.

There's a new meltdown from Markle Jr. on the DM.

He wants to know why the Markles can't be like the Middletons! ?

 

[AlowVera]

They must need to establish contact for some kind of deal.

 

[Rudolph]

There's a new meltdown from Markle Jr. on the DM.

He wants to know why the Markles can't be like the Middletons! ?

And the Markle vs Middleton headline isn’t even accurate. He’s talking about about about Catherine’s uncle, Gary Goldsmith, not the Middleton family.

What I would say to him is, although Gary has some issues, not once did her ever say bad things about Kate or attack the royal family. For Gary’s faults, he loves Kate very much.

 

[MARG]

And the Markle vs Middleton headline isn’t even accurate. He’s talking about about about Catherine’s uncle, Gary Goldsmith, not the Middleton family.

What I would say to him is, although Gary has some issues, not once did her ever say bad things about Kate or attack the royal family. For Gary’s faults, he loves Kate very much.

I believe the custody issue does include the greatgrandchildren. Permission from HM was needed to take George on tour with them. Every time they take the children out of the country they need permission. However, I find it hard to think that HM or Charles would interfere in any relationship with their grandparents.

 

[ACO]

Yep! Gary is problematic in many ways but he has been nothing but supportive of Kate and her family, including the royals. Thomas can't say the same about himself, father and sister. So he needs to sit down and shut up. Also notice how every time they speak it is about how they want to be included in festivities. It is never ever about Meghan herself.

 

[AlowVera]

Gary is a non-hostile embarrassment. He has never verbally abused his niece also he has never insulted the royal family.

However when Gary did not get full access to Pippa's wedding I do recall he complained to the tabloids about that.

Imagine if Jr. was given the approval stamp. If he did not get access to all the wedding events he would continue to complain and act up. Once you give an inch they will take a mile. What a non-resilient group of adult children.

Regarding both Gary and Jr. It is high time we stop blaming adult men's actions on much younger women.

 

[DeeT]

The Queen dorsn’t travel overseas anymore and, to be frank, Charles doesn’t do it quite often these days either as many international engagements have been outsourced to the Cambridges and Harry. Harry’s children will obviously spend summers in Balmoral and be with other members of the RF around Christmas and in other special occasions, or maybe on weekends as Beatrice, Eugenie and Edward’s children have done with their grandparents. There is no comparison really with the very limited amount of time , if any, that they will spend with Mrs Ragland and much less with her estranged husband, whom they will probably never see. Again, the RF is not your run-of-the-mill Anerican family.

And I stand by my perception. Meghan and Doria have seen each other only occasionally over the past 7 years or so. In fact, they haven’t seen each other since the wedding as far as I know. I have no reason to believe they are particularly close as the Middletons are to Kate for example, or the Westlings are to Daniel. Meghan herself is known to have told Harry that she “ never had a family” , whatever that means. Marrying into the RF should be a good opportunity for her to make a clean break with her past.

Obviously you did not follow Meghan prior to her dating Prince Harry or else you would know that Meghan’s mother visited her frequently in Canada. Doria even spent time with Meghan while she worked on set filming Suits. Members of the cast also know her mother.

Meghan has spoken frequently about her strong bond with her mother, in her past social media posts, articles and television interviews.

Meghan never mentioned her estranged siblings at all, in fact she was raised as an only child. The estranged sister’s 2 eldest children are in their 30’s just like Meghan, lying Samantha was not raised with Meghan. Samantha is closer in age to Doria than Meghan.

On her a personal note, my family open our Christmas presents with some of my UK family over FaceTime, nicely projected to big screen tv so no one misses anything. Celebrated a birthday that way too.

 

[Rudolph]

The same news of world reporter who recorded Gary was also the same reporter who recorded Sophie Wessex.

Gary has issues with substance abuse but Camillas son, Tom Parker Bowles has admitted cocaine use and has been in court over it.

The royals aren’t perfect and don’t expect the people around them to be perfect either.

The Markles need to learn though, when you cross the line into attacking the royal family, calling them a cult and all the other nonsense, don’t expect to be invited for tea.

Plus Gary’s not exactly been invited into the fold. He’s attended his nieces weddings but that’s been about it.

 

[duchessrachel]

BTW, has anyone watch the You Tube interview with Samantha's mother and daughter Noel? It is under the subject heading of "Meghan Markle Cousin says Samantha Markle is a jealous bitter Woman". Very honest but scary for a young child to have to remember that upbringing. Noel so very soft spoken and quite lovely.

Like father, like daughter. Thomas Markle does not love his children and Samantha does not love hers. Thankfully, Doria raised Meghan to be different. I am so thankful that Noel got out of this environment.

 

[Madame Verseau]

Well I spoke too soon.

Sr's dragging the royal family was a bridge too far. Uncle Gary has not been invited to royal events; he wasn't at Prince Louis' christening. The BRF didn't lift a finger to get the battery charges dropped. The Markles are stuck on stupid and they are just column filler.

 

[Rudolph]

This is what I was saying earlier. Gary Goldsmith has a lot of personal issues but so do a lot of people. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Gary however has never attacked Kate, never attacked the BRF.

Mike and Carole Middleton are treated with nothing but respect because they have never put a foot wrong with regards to their discretion. The Middletons even attended Harry’s wedding. They’re fully accepted.

 

[DeeT]

The Middletons & William used to holiday with Gary, so they had more recent relationship. Gary went to Pippa’s church ceremony, but according to him, he wasn’t invited to the reception. Regardless, he’s never verbally abused or attacked Catherine or her family.

Meghan has had no adult relationship with her estranged siblings. Tom Jr doesn’t even have a relationship with his own sons, who don’t even want his last name. Both Sam & Jr have verbally abused & attacked Meghan, both of them publicly told Harry not to marry Meghan, so why did they want to go to the wedding! The reporters never ask that question!

 

[AlowVera]

Sr. had a choice he could of experienced the royal halo affect which could of led to perhaps meeting new people and increased opportunity. Perhaps he could of picked up another profession other than whining to the press. He would have been accepted into the fold just as Doria. All he had to do was keep quiet even after the whole calling TMZ mess they would have eventually found a way to onboard him.

 

[Osipi]

What it boils down to is that with the Markles, Meghan really isn't part of their narrative to the extent that there is credible information. It could almost be compared to a family of people that lived next door to Oprah Winfrey when she was growing up but haven't seen her or interacted with her since. No matter how much the family divulges about Oprah's childhood, it isn't relevant to Oprah's life today and Oprah has no need to acknowledge these people at all.

When all of the Markle's bleatings to the press remain being filled with whines, the public eventually gets sick of whine as a steady diet and start to look towards a change of pace. Beer perhaps? Or champagne? Or even coffee.

As the silly season draws to an end and more information released about what Meghan will be doing in her new life with Harry and the press covers it, its going to be plain to see a stark comparison between whines and actually doing something constructive with life.

 

[Cocoasneeze]

I'm sure Thomas Jnr knows this already, but it's worth saying again. He and his sister aren't in Meghan's life like Kate's family are in hers, because Meghan doesn't want them in her life. She didn't want them in her life before meeting Harry, and doesn't want them in her life now that she's married Harry. Nothing has changed. Kensington Palace aren't going to bring anyone 'into the fold' whom Meghan doesn't want there.

As for Thomas Snr. He WAS in the fold. He was supposed to walk Meghan down the aisle. He backed out. Then he talked to TMZ instead of Meghan. He told Meghan and Harry not to come to visit him. He schemed behind Meghan's back to give that interview to GMB. We all know this. Meghan cut contact with her father because he broke her trust, not the other way around, and the narrative won't change no matter how many times Thomas Snr and Jnr and Samantha try to change it.