Meghan Markle publicly celebrated her mom Doria Ragland's birthday. The Duchess of Sussex gave her mother a shoutout on her personal Instagram account on Tuesday, Sept. 2. Meghan took to her Instagram Story to share a boomerang of herself planting a kiss on her mom's cheek, set to Stevie Wonder's "Happy Birthday."
Meghan added pink hearts to the boomerang, writing, "Happy Birthday to my beautiful mom! 🩷."
The Duchess, 44, is Doria's only child. She appeared in the couple's the 2022 Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, admitting that "the last five years [have] been challenging" and that she was "ready to have my voice heard."
In the series, Doria recalled Meghan telling her over the phone that she was dating Prince Harry. "I remember when I first met him too. You know, he was just like 6'1", handsome man with red hair. Really great manners. He was just really nice. And they looked really happy together," she said. "Yeah, like he was the one. Once it was announced that they were together, it seemed kind of like a novelty."
Doria noted in the Netflix series that Meghan "was always so easy to get along with, very congenial, making friends. You know, she was a very empathic child. Very mature. I remember asking Meg 'Did I feel like her mom?' and she told me that I felt like her older controlling sister. I never forgot that."
During the Sussexes' engagement interview in 2017, Harry praised Meghan's mother, saying: "Her mum's amazing." Doria was present for her daughter's big day, as Meghan wed Queen Elizabeth’s grandson, Prince Harry, at St. George’s Chapel in 2018. Doria became a grandmother in 2019 with the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's first child, Prince Archie. She was present as the late Queen and Prince Philip were introduced to their great-grandson Archie at Windsor Castle. Doria became a grandmother for the second time with the arrival of Princess Lilibet in 2021.
Back in 2017, Meghan included her mom in a list of 10 women who changed her life. In the piece for Glamour, Meghan wrote, "My mom's a yoga instructor, but she does social work, as well, and she works specifically with the geriatric community. For me to watch this level of life-long sensitivity to nurturing and caregiving, but at the same time my mom has always been a free spirit."
The Duchess continued, "She's got dread locks and a nose ring. She just ran the LA Marathon. We can just have so much fun together, and yet, I'll still find so much solace in her support. That duality coexists the same way it would in a best friend."