Meghan: A Hollywood Princess(74)

For all that, her very presence inside the royal family will make the monarchy seem more inclusive and relevant to multicultural Britain even as the nation struggles to come to terms with diversity in a post-Brexit world.

The image of the Queen and Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, an African American, standing outside St. George’s Chapel together, will be a symbolic moment, one the descendant of a slave, and the other the longest-serving monarch in British history. Meghan, who has already proved herself to be an immensely popular choice of bride, will compliment her husband and the august institution she has married into, bringing a freshness, diversity, and warmth to the chilly corridors of Buckingham Palace.

Her many fans and admirers are eager to watch the next episode of her great royal adventure.

With her smarts, sophistication, beauty, and talent, Meghan represents the American Dream of having it all, achieving her success by dint of hard work and ability. Her life intersected with Prince Harry’s at a point where he had proven himself worthy of respect, in spite of, not because of, the privileges bestowed upon him by dint of birth and heritage. While they may have come from different countries, backgrounds, and cultures, their union is undoubtedly the crowning symbolic achievement of the special relationship between a monarchy and a republic.


After graduating from Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, Doria Ragland (far right, second row) worked for her father, Alvin Ragland, at his antiques business. Later she took on a job in the makeup department at ABC Studios. It was here that she met her future husband, Thomas Markle, then lighting director for the long-running drama General Hospital. (MEGA)


Thomas Markle, pictured in this 1962 high school portrait when he was eighteen. Shortly after graduating he headed to the Poconos, where he worked in local theaters. Later he moved to Chicago to pursue his ambition of working in stage lighting. (MEGA)


On December 23, 1979, African American Democrat Doria Ragland married Pennsylvania-born Republican Thomas Markle Sr. at the Self-Realization Fellowship Temple in Hollywood. Their union came just twelve years after the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Loving v. Virginia that allowed interracial marriage throughout the United States. (Mail on Sunday / Solo Syndication)


Meghan, then a two-year-old toddler, was photographed endlessly by her doting father. But soon after this picture was taken, Doria and Thomas went their separate ways. (Mail on Sunday / Solo Syndication)


Meghan, seen here at age five, and her mother, Doria, who worked as a travel agent, would often take trips together, visiting Mexico and Jamaica. After her parents separated, Meghan lived with her mother. Later, as a freshman, she moved in with her father, as his home and studio were close to Immaculate Heart School. (Mail on Sunday / Solo Syndication)


Meghan’s grandfather Alvin Ragland, standing next to her Aunt Saundra, holds a smiling Meghan at a family gathering while her half-brother Tom Markle Jr. holds her ponytail. Seated are her mother, Doria, and grandmother Jeanette. (Mail on Sunday / Solo Syndication)


Meghan, age five, sings “The Wheels on the Bus” at her private school, the Little Red School House, in Hollywood. The budding actress appeared in numerous productions, including West Side Story and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. (Splash News)


Meghan at Ninaki Priddy’s ninth birthday party in 1990. They were such good friends that both families considered them sisters. (Splash News)


Meghan, around age ten, with her Uncle Fred Markle, now presiding bishop of the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church, with her father, Tom Markle Sr., and grandmother Doris. Meghan was devoted to her grandmother and regularly visited her at her Glendale nursing home. (The Sun / News Licensing)


Tom Markle Sr. worked as the lighting director for the sitcom Married with Children. Meghan would often bring friends, seen here with series star David Faustino, to visit the set. (Splash News)


Meghan in seventh grade, 1993, at the start of her first year at Immaculate Heart, an all-girls Catholic high school in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles. The school was alma mater to showbiz stars Tyra Banks, Mary Tyler Moore, and Lucie Arnaz. (? John Dlugolecki / Contact Press Images)


Meghan in eighth grade, August 1994. That year she first volunteered at the Hippie Kitchen but found the experience “very scary.” She would return four years later. (? John Dlugolecki / Contact Press Images)


Meghan’s Immaculate Heart High School was just a few minutes walk from her home in Los Feliz. Here she is fooling around with her school friends. (Splash News)


Meghan poses with her date Danny Segura for the St. Francis school prom. Meghan encouraged Danny to try his hand at acting, and he starred with her in his high school’s production of Oedipus Rex. (Vicki Conrad)


Meghan and her classmate Cecilia Donnellan strike a pose at the senior year Christmas dance held in December 1998. (? John Dlugolecki / Contact Press Images)


During her time at Immaculate Heart, Meghan featured regularly in stage shows such as Annie, Steppin’ Out, and Back Country Crimes, which were directed by former Hollywood star Gigi Perreau. In her senior year she performed at Catholic boys’ schools, wowing the audience as seductress Lola in the musical Damn Yankees and taking the female lead in the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex. Note that she is wearing the distinctive art deco–style Immaculate Heart class ring. (? John Dlugolecki / Contact Press Images)


A prescient photograph of Meghan and her best friend Ninaki Priddy outside Buckingham Palace during their summer trip to Europe in 1996. Neither would ever have dreamed that Meghan would one day be welcomed through the wrought-iron gates. (Splash News)