What to Know About Meghan Markle’s Parents, Doria Ragland and Thomas Markle

NEED TO KNOW

• Doria Ragland and Thomas Markle welcomed their daughter, Meghan Markle, in 1981

• The former couple later divorced in 1987

• Meghan and her father are estranged, and he did not attend her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry

Meghan Markle is the daughter of former social worker Doria Ragland and retired director of photography Thomas Markle.

The former couple met in California and married in 1979. Two years later, they welcomed Meghan on Aug. 4, 1981. They later divorced in 1987.

Meghan and her father are estranged, and Thomas did not attend her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry. In October 2026, a report by The Sun claimed that Thomas was being investigated for alleged possession of child pornography. Thomas denied the allegations in an interview with The Daily Mail.

“I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours, and my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed,” Meghan said in a statement shared with PEOPLE.

Ragland, meanwhile, is a doting grandmother to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s two children: Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. After the family of four moved back to the U.K. for an extended period in August 2026, a source told PEOPLE that “Meghan plans to see her mom regularly,” adding, “They’re incredibly close.”

Here is everything to know about Meghan Markle’s parents, Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland.

Ragland and Thomas met in California

Ragland was born in Ohio on Sept. 2, 1956, while Thomas grew up in Newport, Pa.

The former couple met in California on the set of General Hospital, where Thomas was a lighting director and Ragland was temping as an assistant makeup artist, per Vanity Fair.

“I like to think he was drawn to her sweet eyes and her Afro, plus their shared love of antiques,” Meghan wrote in a July 2015 essay for Elle.

Ragland and Thomas eventually married in 1979.

They welcomed Meghan in 1981

Two years after tying the knot, Thomas and Ragland welcomed Meghan on Aug. 4, 1981.

When Meghan was young, Ragland gave her the nickname “Flower.” The Duchess of Sussex revealed the sweet moniker on her now-defunct lifestyle blog The Tig, listing her many nicknames as “Meg, MM, M&M, and Flower (which my mom has called me since I was little).”

Ragland and Thomas divorced in 1987

In 1987, when Meghan was 6 years old, Ragland and Thomas divorced.

The Duchess of Sussex later reflected on their split in the 2022 Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, noting that her parents “co-parented well” before sharing a poem she wrote at age 12 about navigating life between two households.

In it, she described being shuttled between “two houses, two homes, two kitchens, two phones … two places that I stay.” She expressed a childhood longing for “a nuclear life, with a happy dad and his loving wife.”

Meghan has two siblings

Before meeting Ragland, Thomas was married to Roslyn Loveless for eight years, according to Vanity Fair. The former couple welcomed two children together: Samantha and Thomas Jr.

“Meghan has no relationship with her half-siblings, nor has she ever had one,” a source close to the former Suits star told PEOPLE in May 2018. “They were out of the house by the time she was born.”

Thomas and his son currently live in the Philippines, and Thomas Jr. informed the Daily Mail in December 2025 that his dad had undergone surgery to amputate his left leg.

Meghan reached out to her dad following his emergency operation, a spokesperson for the Duchess of Sussex told PEOPLE.

Ragland escorted Meghan to her 2018 wedding

After meeting Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip for the first time at Windsor Castle the day before Meghan’s royal wedding to Harry in May 2018, Ragland spent the evening with her daughter at Cliveden House Hotel.

The following morning, Ragland traveled with Meghan to St. George’s Chapel in a red Rolls-Royce. However, despite speculation that Ragland would walk her daughter down the aisle after it was revealed that Meghan’s father wouldn’t attend the wedding, the bride chose to walk solo before being joined by then-Prince Charles halfway to the altar.

For her role as mother-of-the-bride, Ragland wore a bespoke pale green dress and day coat designed by the creative directors of Oscar de la Renta, Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim. She accessorized with a custom Stephen Jones hat and Aquazzara heels.

Meghan and Thomas are estranged

Meghan and Thomas were once close. But their relationship has fractured, in part because Thomas admitted he staged paparazzi photos and cooperated with tabloid media leading up to her 2018 wedding to Harry, which Meghan viewed as a betrayal of trust.

Thomas ultimately pulled out of attending the wedding, and he later expressed regret over the incident, saying in March 2021, “I wish I hadn’t done the whole thing.”

In Harry & Meghan, Harry said he “shouldered” some of the blame for the fallout between his wife and Thomas.

“She had a father before this, and now she doesn’t have a father,” he said, adding, “If Meg wasn’t with me, then her dad would still be her dad.”

In July 2026, Meghan’s half-brother, Thomas Jr., allegedly discovered that their father was in possession of child pornography, per The Sun, which reported in October 2026 that Thomas Jr. brought his allegations to the FBI and other law enforcement authorities. The illicit material was allegedly found at Thomas Sr.’s home in Cebu, Philippines, and included both videos and photos of girls engaged in sexual acts. Thomas Sr. denied the allegations.

“When I found this material I was horrified and I had no option but to report my dad,” Thomas Jr. told the outlet.

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Meghan responded to the allegations against her estranged father by saying that she was “deeply distressed.” The duchess also recalled “troubling and disturbing allegations” made against him back in 2018; at the time, she was “given assurances that these were being investigated.” Meghan was advised that speaking publicly about the unsubstantiated allegations back in 2018 could jeopardize any potential investigation, a source familiar with the situation tells PEOPLE.

“I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications’ distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children, was for one reason: to protect them,” she added.

Ragland is a doting grandmother

Ragland became a first-time grandmother in 2019 when Meghan and Harry welcomed their son, Prince Archie. The Duchess of Sussex’s mother was in London for the baby’s birth on May 4, 2019, with a statement from the royal family saying Ragland was “overjoyed by the arrival of her first grandchild.”

She was also present when Meghan and Harry introduced the newborn to the Queen and Prince Philip.

Ragland became a grandmother for a second time with the arrival of Meghan and Harry’s daughter, Princess Lilibet, in June 2021.

In May 2026, Ragland even joined the family of four for a Disneyland getaway shortly before they returned to the U.K. for an extended period. “The kids did lots of rides, and it was a special way to extend Mother’s Day for Meghan and her mom,” a source told PEOPLE at the time.

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