Meghan Markle Says Her Mother Has Remained In "Silent Dignity"

No topics were off-limits in Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's CBS interview with Oprah Winfrey on March 7, which covered their battles with mental health, lack of support from the royal family, the racism directed toward their son Archie prior to his birth, and much more. While opening up about the unfair and racist treatment she's received from British tabloids, Markle noted that "there was such an obsession" with information about her family — so much so that the media set out to track down her parents' locations. Detailing that her father offered up stories to the press, Markle said that her mother, Doria Ragland, remained in "silent dignity" for the entirety of the couple's time in the United Kingdom and throughout this exit process.

"I did everything I could to protect [my parents] in that media frenzy, but for over a year, the UK tabloids were trying to find my dad, offering people so much money to try and find his address," Markle told Winfrey. "Once they did... the tabloids moved into the apartment next door and across from him, descended on this small town, [and began giving] him gifts. The whole thing just brings us to where we are today."

Markle's parents divorced when she was six years old, and she's previously referred to her mother as her "best friend." Explaining that her father began speaking to the tabloids and lying to her about it, Winfrey asked Markle if he was responsible for the leaked stories or manipulated by the media. "Everyone has accountability. Look, they hunted my mom down, and you’ve never heard her say a word," Markle said of Ragland. "She’s remained in silent dignity for four years, watching me go through this."

Markle also opened up about her relationship with her half-sister Samantha, who published a memoir in Jan. 2021 titled The Diary of Princess Pushy's Sister: A Memoir, Part One. Revealing that they haven't spoken in nearly two decades, the Duchess said, "I think it’d be hard to tell all when you don’t know me." She continued, "I don’t feel comfortable talking about people that I really don’t know... I grew up as an only child, which everyone who grew up around me knows, and I wished I had siblings."

Speaking further on the topic, Markle stated that the two "don't really know" each other. "She changed her name back to Markle — I think she was in her early 50s around that time — only when I started dating Harry. I think that says enough."