At tomorrow's Royal Wedding, the world will watch as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle get married — and make history. The newest member of the Royal family is only the second American to join the court, but also the first bi-racial Black Royal woman since the 1700s. And naturally, Markle's mom showed up the occasion. Her name is Doria Ragland, and we are LIVING for these photos of them arriving at the pre-wedding hotel. Look at this royal melanin!
Ragland, 61, is a social worker and a yoga enthusiast. In London, Ragland is getting acquainted with the Royal fam. People reports that ahead of the wedding, she met her daughter's new in-laws — none other than Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Ragland even had tea with the Queen at Windsor Castle the day before the wedding.
It's wonderful to see two families come together, especially given that the Royal family is known to be standoffish towards perceived outsiders. They are also known for, ahem, not being especially friendly towards new family members of color: Emma Tynn (née McQuiston), Viscountess Weymouth, is of Nigerian ancestry and spoke about feeling alienated because of her race. Chatting with Tatler, the Viscountess said that "There has been some snobbishness, particularly among the much older generation. There's class and then there's the racial thing...it's a problem when someone's making you feel different or separate because of your race, or forming an opinion about you before they know you."
Markle, of course, has dealt with her fair share of racism. The haters can take a seat, because Markle is about to become the newest Duchess, and we know she's going to make us all proud in her humanitarian duties. We hope Rihanna exists Kensington Palace beaming about how our new Duchess is black.
(Photo: Steve Parsons/PA Wire)