MEGHAN & HARRY'S FAMILY JOY!
The star’s mum plays a big part in the couple’s plans, so she’s moving to London!
The Queen has already given her approval to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s impending nuptials, but there’s another woman whose blessing also holds considerable weight for the loved-up couple.
Based on these photos taken at the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games last week (right), it’s clear Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland wholeheartedly supports the couple’s marriage.
In fact, Woman’s Day can reveal she’s so thrilled about their engagement, she’s moving to London along with Meghan!
“Doria is part of the package,” discloses an insider. “Meghan can’t imagine not having her mum close by, and she wants her to experience royal life and the adventure she’s about to embark on. They’re very close.”
Harry’s decision to fly Doria from LA to Toronto last week, so she could enjoy the crescendo of the Invictus Games, speaks volumes about his devotion to Meghan, 36. As the trio watched performances by Bryan Adams and Bruce Springsteen in their VIP box, the interactions between Harry and his future
mother-in-law showed an easy and genuine rapport.
Harry’s going to great lengths to ensure Meghan’s transition to fully fledged princess is as seamless as possible.
The 33-year-old royal is trying to rent Doria a guest suite at Kensington Palace. But if that doesn’t work out, he’s offered to get her an apartment around the corner.
“Harry is crazy about Meghan and would do anything for her,” the insider says. “Besides, he gets on great with her mum and thinks it can only enhance his relationship with Meghan if she has her mother nearby.”
Doria, a 61-year-old yoga instructor and social worker, raised Meghan alone in LA after breaking up from her cinematographer husband Thomas Markle, 72, when the Suits actress was a little girl.
“Doria has never had a lot of money and Meghan is very aware it has always been tough for her. This is why she can’t stand the thought of her being thousands of kilometres away in LA,” the insider says. “Meghan thinks it would be wrong for her to live in luxury at Kensington Palace, while her mum is struggling to make ends meet.”
With an engagement announcement just weeks away, it’s rumoured Meghan has began moving her belongings into Kensington Palace. And since Harry’s home inside Nottingham Cottage is not much more than a pied-a-terre, the Queen is set to give him a new apartment better suited to raising a family.
Woman’s Day can reveal the Queen has offered Harry and Meghan apartments eight and nine at Kensington Palace, Harry and William’s childhood home.
It was given to Diana and Charles after their 1981 wedding, but in recent years has been used by members of the Queen’s domestic staff. “Harry’s determined to turn it into the perfect family home for them and their kids,” the insider says.