This is the controversial family of Meghan Markle, Prince Harry's wife
The former actress's relatives are probably the strangest to have passed through the House of Windsor thus far.
Meghan Markle has a long and complicated family tree, which means that she will have to make some difficult decisions about how many members of her family will be invited to her announced wedding, which will take place on May 19, with the Prince. Harry. The interpreter's family is probably the strangest that has passed through the House of Windsor so far.
Parents
Meghan Markle, born in Los Angeles, has dozens of relatives scattered across the United States. Her father Thomas Markle (73) lives most of the time at his residence in Mexico, where he retired after finishing his career in Hollywood. Although they have never been seen in public, the interpreter assures that she maintains a very good relationship with her father. On the other hand, Meghan maintains a very special bond with her mother Doria Ragland (61).
Like many other relationships, the love story of her parents began at work, specifically on the set of the series "General Hospital" in Los Angeles, California. She was a 21-year-old makeup artist, while he was a 33-year-old lighting director, married with two children. The couple married in December 1979. Their only daughter, Rachel Meghan Markle, arrived just over a year later, in August 1981.
But this union did not have a happy ending and the couple divorced when Meghan was just six years old. Since then, the ex-marriage has raised her daughter and they still have an excellent relationship to this day. After the divorce, they both achieved some professional success: Doria became a yoga instructor in 2011. Thomas continued to grow in Hollywood as an illuminator. However, both also suffered financial problems: her mother declared bankruptcy in 2002, as did her father a few years later.
Thomas Markle is originally from Pennsylvania although he now lives in Mexico. He maintains almost daily contact with his daughter and it is believed that he already met Prince Henry. On the other hand, Doria Ragland still lives in Los Angeles, where she has a small bungalow in the Windsor Hills neighborhood, near Inglewood and the city's main airport, LAX. She is known to have met the Prince on several occasions, most recently during the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games in late September in Toronto, an event attended by Harry and Meghan Markle as an official couple.
Neither has publicly commented on her daughter's boyfriend. At the insistence of the journalists, the only words they could get from Doria were: "Look, I can't say anything." However, she smiled widely when told that her daughter would go down in history if she became the UK's first mixed-race princess.
Step Brothers
Meghan has two stepbrothers from her father's first marriage to Roslyn Loveless (72). The oldest is Yvonne, who later changed her name to Samantha (53), who lives in Silver Springs, Florida, and was one of the first to speak after news of the relationship came to light and announced her intention to publish a book telling all the indiscretions about the protagonist of the series «Suits»: «She has planned since her childhood to become a princess. If the Royal Family knew how Meghan has treated her own family, she would be horrified, "she declared at the time of her. She also accused the actress of being "narcissistic and selfish" and called her "a superficial social climber" with "a soft spot for gingers." Days later, Samantha backtracked on her comments, stating that she had been misquoted and subsequently gave a series of effusive interviews in which she declared her love for her sister. During an exclusive interview with the "Good Morning Britain" program, she openly stated that Meghan was charming and a very strong woman, words that contrast with what she had said about her previously.
Just a couple of days ago, not being one of the guests at the wedding, she decided to openly criticize her future marriage. "Time to grow up, Prince Harry," she said on her Twitter account.
In contrast, her other brother Thomas Jr. has never had anything bad to say about Meghan and, speaking from her home in Grants Pass, Oregon, told the "Daily Mail" that her sister had always been a "princess": I am proud that Meghan is successful. It was obvious from day one that she was destined to be in a really great place, "and he added," She has always been a princess. She has been on that level from day one.
Both brothers, like their parents, have also suffered legal problems: in the case of Samantha, a bitter divorce battle and custody of her second husband Scott Rasmussen (57), who went so far as to accuse her of “using the telephone to terrorize and intimidate ”in 2011. For his part, last January Tom Jr was arrested for pointing a gun at his then-girlfriend Darlene Blount (37) at the head during an altercation late at night. The charges were dropped a month later. Despite the firearm incident Tom Jr declared that "Darlene and I are made for each other."
Samantha is now writing a book about her childhood with Meghan entitled "The Diary of Princess Pushy's Sister", to the surprise of the rest of the Markle clan, who told the "Daily Mail" that the content is probably "full of lies." Samantha, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and has been in a wheelchair for almost a decade, still occasionally works as a freelance writer.
Uncles
Although Meghan's mother was raised as an only child, she also has a younger stepbrother from her father's second marriage, Alvin, to a retired teacher Ava Burrow (63) who lives in Indio, California. She maintains a close relationship with her stepdaughter Doria hers and she has nothing but good words for Meghan, although she admitted to being surprised to find out who the actress was dating. Meggie is a wonderful person. Very smart, very pretty, a talented actress, and she has done amazing work for women and the UN. She believe that she would be a good woman for any family. Although her son, Alvin Joffrey Ragland (34) is younger than Meghan, he maintains a close relationship with both.
Meghan's other uncle is Frederick Markle (75), he lives in Sanford, Florida, a small town 27 miles from Orlando. Although the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, may be the one to officiate at the wedding of Meghan and Harry, his uncle Frederick could also do so since he is the leader of the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church in the United States. Known as Bishop Dismas to his shrinking flock, Frederick's church has only one ruined chapel and he is the only clergyman. And although the church had around 40 members at its peak in the 1980s, a former devotee told the British newspaper that he is not sure if anyone attends services there today.
Nephews
Although Meghan does not have children from her first marriage, her father Thomas has already been a grandfather up to five times thanks to her stepbrothers. Samantha has three children, the two oldest from her first marriage to a lawyer: Ashleigh (32) and Christopher (30). Despite the fact that they have both lived with her father since their divorce, they maintain a good relationship with their aunt Meghan.
Samantha's youngest daughter is Noelle (19), the result of her second marriage to Scott Rasmussen (57). Noelle and Samantha's relationship is difficult too: After her parents split from her in 2003, Noelle was embroiled in a bitter custody battle and later accused her mother of being abusive to her. She also claimed to be afraid of Samantha's current boyfriend, Mark Phillips (59), and said that he had threatened to hit her more than once. Both Grant and Phillips denied the accusation, but in May 2015 the New Mexico Department of Children, Youth and Families issued a certified letter saying that their allegations of abuse against Noelle were substantiated.
Like his sister, Tom Jr also has a strained relationship with his two children, the product of his first marriage to Tracey Dooley (52). Her eldest son, also named Thomas, is a manager of a Domino's Pizza establishment and lives in Mammoth Lakes, California, with her husband Ronnie (41). He added: “My father and my aunt are crazy. I feel bad for Meghan. Me and my brother Tyler have nothing to do with our father, "and he added," His behavior towards him since Meghan started dating Prince Harry has been completely appalling. I want people to know that I have nothing to do with it and to apologize for his behavior.
Thomas, whose younger brother Tyler lives near his parents in Oregon, also told the Mirror newspaper that he missed his aunt and was still waiting to be invited to the wedding. I would like to see my aunt again, hopefully even before we are married. But if her wedding is the only chance to see her, I'd love to.
Grandparents
Neither of Meghan's grandparents live, although the two were very present in the life of Prince Harry's future wife until relatively recently. Her maternal grandfather Ragland Alvin died in 2011, her other grandfather Gordon, a military veteran who served during World War II, also died in 2011, at the age of 91.
Ex husband
The American actress she was with Trevor Engelson (41 years old), a film and television producer, with whom she was married for two years. They met in 2004 and were engaged for six years until they got engaged in 2010.
The bohemian-style wedding was held in October 2011 in Ocho Ríos (Jamaica), but her married life did not last long. two years later they signed the divorce papers for "irreconcilable differences." The distance was another factor that weighed heavily on their separation. The actress began with her role as Rachel Zane in the series "Suits" and had to move to Toronto, while Engelson was in Los Angeles, also immersed in her work. Personal ambition outweighed love.
And it seems that Engelson saw in it a story typical of an audiovisual production. The ex-husband will produce a series that will tell the story of a man abandoned by his wife to go with a British prince. Chance? The truth is that it seems not and everything indicates that the plot of the fiction, which will be broadcast on Fox, will have many similarities with the life of Meghan Markle.
However, her ex-husband stated a few months ago that the protagonists are not entirely based on her private lives. She clarifies that the only similarity with them is that the main actress begins a relationship with a member of British royalty after divorcing her husband. The idea of her came to his head after having a conversation with her friend Dan Farah in which they considered how her divorce would have been if she had had children with him and the British royalty were in the middle of the dispute.
During his courtship, Engelson was the producer of a couple of well-known films, such as "Til the Priest Do Us Part" with Mandy Moore and Robin Williams. But these days he is more focused on his side as a producer on television and not on film.
