Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have a new addition to their household. Not another rescue dog but the Duchess of Sussex’s mother, Doria Ragland. The 67-year-old is reportedly living with her daughter, son-in-law, the Duke of Sussex, and grandchildren nearly full-time.
Doria Ragland now reportedly lives with Harry and Meghan in Montecito, California
Meghan’s mom has joined her, Harry, and their two children, Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lilibet, 2, in Montecito, California, per a report from Express.
Ragland now lives in the guesthouse on Harry and Meghan’s sprawling seaside property to not only help them through “tough times” but sidestep the three-hour drive to her Los Angeles home.
“2023 was a tough year for both Harry and Meghan, and Doria has been there for them,” a source told the outlet.
The trio were involved in what was described as a “near catastrophic car chase” in New York following a May 2023 awards ceremony.
“Doria looks fighting fit, but she’s nearly 70 and gets tired of the car rides from her home to see her daughter and grandchildren,” the source explained.
“It takes nearly three hours to drive one way. So, it made sense for her to move into the guesthouse. She now spends more time there than in her own house.”
They also shared that Harry and Meghan have, within the last 12 months, leaned heavily on Ragland amid various challenges and setbacks. Ahem, the crumbling of their Spotify partnership and ending 2023 being listed among the year’s “losers.”
Meghan’s mom retreats to the Montecito guesthouse when Harry ‘needs space’
While Harry seemingly “adores” his mother-in-law and “loves having her there,” occasionally, the 39-year-old “needs alone time.”
When that happens, the source claimed, “Doria heads over to the guesthouse to make herself scarce when needed.”
However, that isn’t to say Ragland doesn’t spend lots of time with the Sussex family. She reportedly joined the foursome on a private trip to Costa Rica ahead of the Christmas holidays.
Overall, Meghan’s mom has “basically become the mother of the household,” they said. “Harry loves to be mothered, so he finds Doria being there very refreshing.”
Furthermore, “Harry appreciates the warmth and kindness that Doria brings to the family. He doesn’t get that from his side of the family and thinks it important that the children are close with their grandmother.”
What Ragland thought of Harry when they first met: ‘handsome man with red hair’
In the 2022 Harry & Meghan docuseries, Ragland spoke publicly for the first time about the couple. More specifically, her first impression of Harry and the moment Meghan divulged the two were dating.
“When she told me, we were on the phone,” Ragland recalled to Netflix. “And she says, ‘Mommy, I’m going out with Prince Harry.’ And I started whispering, ‘Oh my God,’” to which Meghan replied: “‘You can’t tell anyone.’”
As for the moment Meghan introduced her mom to her now-husband, Ragland remembered Harry being a “handsome man with red hair” and “really great manners.” Upon seeing Harry and Meghan together, she immediately noticed how they “looked really happy together, like he was the one.”
