Meghan’s adoring look for Doria that says: Mum’s now one of The Firm, too
At daughter’s Grenfell book launch, Doria hails ‘the power of women’ and tells palace guests:
SHE was the surprise guest at the feast but introduced herself by simply saying: ‘Hi, I’m Meg’s mom.’
Doria Ragland flew the 5,500 miles from her home in Los Angeles to join her daughter, the Duchess of Sussex, in London yesterday for the launch of her first official project as a member of the Royal Family, a cookbook in conjunction with the women of the Grenfell community.
Even seasoned palace officials couldn’t quite believe what they were seeing and struggled to remember a time a royal mother-in-law had been invited to attend an official engagement.
But all were won over by Miss Ragland’s elegance, enthusiasm and obvious pride in her daughter’s achievement.
Told by Baroness (Gail) Rebuck, boss of publisher Penguin Random House, that she must feel ‘very proud’ of Meghan, yoga teacher and geriatric therapist Miss Ragland, 62, beamed and said endearingly: ‘Head over heels.’
It was clear, too, where the duchess gets her strong feminist principles from.
Standing with a small group of cooks from North Kensington’s Hubb Community Kitchen who have collaborated on the book and will benefit from the proceeds, Miss Ragland was heard saying in her clear American accent: ‘The power of women. We make things happen. We’re curious, we say yes, we show up. I’m inspired.’
Earlier this week, Kensington Palace revealed that Meghan had embarked on her debut project, Together: Our Community Cookbook, which showcases more than 50 recipes from women whose community was affected by the Grenfell Tower fire.
In the weeks after the tragedy in June last year, which killed 72 people and left hundreds homeless, women gathered in a communal kitchen at the Al Manaar Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre, where they could prepare fresh food for their families, friends and neighbours.
As they cooked together and shared recipes, word spread and more women joined in, leading to the start of the Hubb Community Kitchen – Hubb means love in Arabic.
Meghan, a self-confessed foodie, visited the kitchen privately in January and continued to visit even while planning her May wedding to Prince Harry. Yesterday’s book launch was held in an exquisitely decorated marquee at Kensington Palace, with a sit-down lunch for family, friends and supporters, prepared by the Hubb women.
They served coconut chicken curry, aubergine masala, chapatis, sharing dips, a caramelised plum upside-down cake and spiced mint tea.
A source told the Mail that Miss Ragland was in London visiting for ‘ just a couple of days’ but Meghan had been ‘ very keen’ for her to attend the book launch.
‘Equally the women from the Hubb were very excited to meet her. They have heard a lot about Doria. It was natural they would want to say hello,’ they said.
Wearing a £1,000 blue Smythe coat over a top by Tuxe and a skirt by Misha Nonoo, the duchess, 37, embraced her friends, including Hubb coordinator Zahira Ghaswala.
A smiling Harry was clearly happy to play second fiddle to his wife. He followed several steps behind, making small talk, and could even be seen smoothing down Meghan’s hair as it was ruffled by the wind.
Before sitting down to lunch, the duchess gave a two-minute speech without notes, describing the project as a ‘tremendous labour of love’, adding: ‘I had just recently moved to London and I felt so immediately embraced by the women in the kitchen; your warmth, and your kindness, and also to be able to be in this city and to see how in this one small room how multicultural it was. So, to the women of the Hubb Community Kitchen, thank you so much for allowing me to be part of this adventure with you. I am so privileged to know you.’
Miss Ragland embraced each of the women and quizzed the cooks about their ingredients. When Ahlam Saeid showed off an enormous bowl of green rice, she said: ‘Oh I love that. That was the first thing I asked about [after learning of the cook book].’
Intlak Al Saiegh, one of the cooks, who sat with Meghan, Harry and Miss Ragland during lunch, said: ‘Doria is so nice. She said she was going to cook all the recipes one by one. She is a lovely, warm person.
‘Meghan pushed us to go forward. We had the skills but we didn’t know how to use them and she encouraged us.’
‘Doria is so nice. She’s a lovely, warm person’