Royal wedding: Meet the Markles — Meghan and her motley crew
A MARIJUANA farmer, a jealous ex-model and a recluse living on a Mexican clifftop; Meghan Markle’s family sounds more like the cast of an episode of Jerry Springer than guests at a royal wedding.
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A MARIJUANA farmer, a jealous ex-model and a recluse living on a Mexican clifftop; Meghan Markle’s family sounds more like the cast of an episode of Jerry Springer than guests at a royal wedding.
Luckily for the Windsors, most of Markle’s motley crew of outspoken and disgruntled relatives will not be in there when she says “I do” at Windsor Castle this weekend.
Only Markle’s yoga-instructor mother Doria Ragland and her debt-ridden, estranged father, Thomas Markle, appear to have been invited to join the Queen, Prince Phillip, Camilla, Charles and other assorted aristocracy at the wedding of the year.
ROYAL WEDDING: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
WHO IS THE REAL MEGHAN MARKLE?
SHOCK COST OF MEGHAN’S WEDDING DRESS
The union of Prince Harry and his actor bride is a groundbreaking moment for the royal family.
Despite Markle’s lack of pedigree and the fact that she has been married before, the Queen gave her blessing for her favourite grandchild, Prince Harry, to marry the American.
But that was well before the monarch had an opportunity to clap eyes on her controversial new in-laws.
She may well have pause for thought once she meets the Markles:
DORIA RAGLAND (MOTHER)
Invited
Markle is close to her yoga-instructor mum.
Doria Ragland is the only member of Markle’s clan to have met Prince Harry. She sports dreadlocks and a nose-ring and, at 61, continues to work at a Californian mental health clinic and recently ran a marathon.
Ms Ragland raised her only child as a single-mother after her short-lived marriage to Thomas Markle ended when Meghan was six.
She credits her mother, who is also a social worker, with founding her interest in humanitarian work by taking her to visit slums in Jamaica and Mexico when she was 10 to raise her as a “global citizen”.
THOMAS MARKLE (FATHER)
Invited
Reports today suggest Thomas Markle, 73, will no longer walk his daughter down the aisle, following the staged paparazzi photos controversy and a heart attack six days ago.
While his youngest child was becoming one of the most famous women in the world, Mr Markle has been living a self-imposed life in exile in a tiny house on a Mexican clifftop.
The Emmy-winning lighting director, who worked on Married … With Children and General Hospital, moved to the village of Rosarito Beach where he lives a modest life.
His eldest son, Tom Jr, claims his father has become a recluse because he is so uncomfortable with the attention Markle’s royal romance had brought upon the family.
Thomas Markle was declared bankrupt in 2016, with debts of more than $43,000.
THOMAS “TOM” MARKLE JR (HALF-BROTHER)
Not invited
Any hope of scoring an invitation to the wedding of the year was scarpered when Tom Jr penned a scathing open letter in which he called Markle a “jaded, shallow and conceited woman” who would make a joke of the royal family.
The twice-married window-fitter has a history of alcoholism and was arrested last year for threatening his latest fiancee, Darlene Blout, with a gun to her head.
The couple has since reconciled.
DARLENE BLOUNT (SISTER-IN-LAW)
Not invited
Darlene Blount saw in the new year from behind bars when she was arrested for a boozy bust-up with her fiance, Tom Markle Jr. Neighbours in Grant’s Pass, Oregon, say Tom Jr has a history of violence but Ms Blount stays in the relationship because he is her “meal ticket”.
“They are two sick people feeding off each other,” one said shortly after the arrest.
TYLER DOOLEY (NEPHEW)
Not invited
Tom Jr’s son from his first marriage also lives in Oregon where he makes a lucrative living as a marijuana farmer.
Tyler Dooley prides himself on being a “pioneer” in the now-legal cannabis-growing industry, and says he’d love to offer the royal couple a sample of his new hybrid plant dubbed Markle’s Sparkle.
The farmer, who says he took up smoking weed in high school but has stopped the habit, says he’d love to give his aunt and her new husband a tour of his business.
Mr Dooley, his older brother TJ and mum Tracey will be part of the wedding commentary team on a British breakfast show.
SAMANTHA GRANT (HALF-SISTER)
Not invited
Samantha Grant failed to forge a career in Hollywood as a model and actor. Now wheelchair-bound with multiple sclerosis, Grant was the first of Markle’s relatives to cash in on her fame and lampoon her in the press.
Giving multiple interviews, Grant labelled her more successful younger sibling as a “social climber” with a “soft spot for gingers” who had barely spoken to her since she became sick in 2008.
Despite having no contact with Markle for more than a decade, Grant plans to write a tell-all book about the soon-to-be-royal with the tentative title The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister.
Grant has recently changed her surname back to Markle.
ASHLEIGH HALE (NIECE)
Invited
The eldest daughter of Samantha Grant, Ashleigh Hale, 31, is close to her aunt in age and personality.
Markle has credited Ms Hale with inspiring her portrayal of Rachel on Suits.
NOELLE RASMUSSEN (NIECE)
Possibly invited
The 19-year-old anthropology student is estranged from her mother, Samantha Grant, and lives with her grandmother, Rosalyn Markle. Ms Rasmussen said her mother was jealous of Markle’s fame and success.
She said Markle had been kind to her when she was a child, taking her shopping for toys and books.
MICHAEL MARKLE (UNCLE)
Not invited
The elder brother of Thomas has had a long and illustrious career in the US military. Michael, 78, has boasted of how he helped Markle get her first job in an embassy when she was 20.
He said he was “upset and surprised” not to be invited to the big day.
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