MEGHAN HAS A NEW ALLY AT THE PALACE
The duchess has a secret weapon by her side!
She’s been a member of the royal family for just a matter of months, but in her first solo project, the Duchess of Sussex has pulled off an epic triumph.
Launching a charity cookbook in the gardens of Kensington Palace last week, Meghan was warm and engaging as she spoke from the heart – and without notes! – about the “tremendous labour of love” it has been raising funds for victims of the tragic Grenfell Tower fire.
Clearly in her element and looking like she’d been doing this kind of thing for years, the former Suits actress won praise and admiration as she waxed lyrical about how she felt “immediately embraced” by the “warmth and kindness”
of the multicultural community of London.
“I feel so proud to live in this city that can have so much diversity,” the biracial beauty declared. “It’s pretty outstanding.”
Throughout the event, her husband Prince Harry looked on adoringly, at one point affectionately resting his head on her shoulder. But it was the surprise appearance of her mother Doria Ragland that really meant the most to Meghan.
“Hi, I’m Meg’s mom,” the yoga instructor, 62, said as she arrived alongside her daughter, 37, and son-in-law, 34. When told she must feel “very proud” of Meghan, she replied, “Head over heels.”
“She was lovely to talk to and bursting with pride,” a royal family friend reports. “She has a softness, but I detected a steely core to her. She has come through a hell of a lot.”
And according to palace insiders, it’s Doria – the only member of Meghan’s family to attend her Windsor wedding – who has been a source of inspiration for her daughter, a secret weapon to surviving the extraordinary baptism of fire that has been her start to royal life.
As her longtime friend and make-up artist Daniel Martin said at the height of the controversy surrounding her estranged father Thomas Markle, “Meghan draws a lot of strength from her mother.”
Surpriseguest
Doria had jetted in from Los Angeles on an Air New Zealand flight earlier in the week, reportedly on a mission to help her daughter cope with the intense criticism she’s received and the pressure of life in the royal goldfish bowl.
“Doria’s felt sick watching her daughter struggle in silence while her family continues to cause such public humiliation,” reveals a close source. “She’s furious at the palace’s lack of control over the situation and how little they’ve done to intervene while Meghan has been forced to quietly suffer.”
The decision to fly over came after Meghan’s halfsister Samantha Markle issued yet another poisonous tweet publicly dissing Harry on his birthday, which left the duchess “sobbing uncontrollably”, claims our palace source.
“After speaking to her daughter, Doria said she had no option but to jet in and stage an emergency intervention. She called Harry and Prince Charles to a secret meeting shortly after her
arrival, explaining how desperately concerned she was about Meghan’s welfare and begging the royals to take proper action.
“She was worried her daughter was going to suffer a full-blown meltdown otherwise and said it was her responsibility to ensure Meghan was being properly taken care of – something she didn’t think was being done.”
We’re told Charles, 69, took Doria seriously and agreed their silence over the controversy has only made things worse. He’s agreed that the first step should be reaching out to Thomas, 74, with Doria arranging an initial meeting.
Our source says, “They still have a lot of work to do to repair this mess, but Doria is confident her intervention worked and she’s finally opened the royals’ eyes to the severity of the situation. She’s made them realise they can no longer sit in silence.”
Meghan’s happiness and confidence at the book launch were in no small part thanks to her mother’s presence, and it’s likely Doria will soon be spending even more time by her daughter’s side, with rumours the yoga guru is set to move into Kensington Palace just before Christmas.
“Meghan has been nagging her mother for months to move to London and now Doria has finally relented,” a friend of the duchess tells us. “It’s only a temporary arrangement – a trial run, if you like – but Meghan is convinced
it’s the first step to her mum crossing the pond permanently.
“Doria has agreed to stay with Meghan and Harry in a guest suite at Kensington for a couple of weeks over the holiday period, and she’ll go to Sandringham too after getting an invitation from the Queen.”
With Doria having recently enrolled in classes on nannying and the care of newborns, it’s yet another sign that if Meghan is not already pregnant, she and Harry are at least planning to start their family very soon.
As the duchess’ pal tells, “Doria has said she’d love to move to London for a few months when her daughter gets pregnant and Meghan is overjoyed at the prospect. She hopes Doria will love it so much that she’ll make it a permanent arrangement, so she can be there watching her grandkids grow up.”
In the meantime, Meghan will continue to plough her efforts into her royal engagements, with many comparing the duchess to her late mother-in-law Princess Diana, who made a habit of visiting communities and charities without public fanfare.
It was nine months ago that Meghan first snuck into the Hubb Community Kitchen in West London, which caters for families affected by the horrific June 2017 Grenfell Tower fire that killed 72 people and left hundreds homeless.
Deeply saddened by the
tragedy, Meghan immediately pitched in and got cooking. Of her first visit, she recalls, “An apron was quickly wrapped around me. I pushed up my sleeves and found myself washing the rice for lunch.”
Touched by the strength and stories of the women in the kitchen, Meghan returned several times and the idea for the book was born. Together:Our
CommunityCookbook features a foreword by Meghan and includes 50 recipes from the women who volunteer at the Hubb.
It’s a PR triumph for Meghan and she’s not done yet. This week, the duchess will undertake her first solo official engagement, the opening of Oceania, a London exhibition focusing on the art of the Pacific, ahead of her and Harry’s tour of New Zealand, Australia, Fiji and Tonga.
As veteran royal commentator Robert Jobson says, “Meghan is exactly what the modern royal family needs. Harry will be very proud.”