Doria came into Samantha and Thomas Jnr’s lives when they were teenagers – dating and marrying their father Thomas Markle Snr. She then had a baby – Meghan – when Samantha was 17 years old. However, Doria’s relationship with her step-daughter was not always plain sailing, according to the 2018 book ‘Meghan: A Hollywood Princess’.
Doria is African-American and Samantha was “not a particularly tolerant young women”, her mother Roslyn reportedly told royal biographer Andrew Morton.
Meanwhile, her brother Thomas Jnr reportedly said she would dismiss Doria’s presence in the house when her friends were round.
She even apparently referred to her as “the maid”.
However, Samantha’s best friend reportedly disputes this claim.
READ MORE: Revealed: The unusual place Meghan Markle's parents got married
Samantha Markle, Meghan Markle and Doria Ragland (Image: GETTY)
Thomas Markle Snr (Image: ITV)
She told Mr Morton that she does not recall her using that language, and if she did she ascribes it to her “sour Chicago sense of humour”.
