Meghan Markle 's mum faced a 'difficult' period in her life after her daughter was born, a biographer has claimed.
Meghan is close to her mother, Doria Ragland, and she is believed to be one of the main reasons the Sussex's chose California for post-royal life.
Ms Ragland was also the only member of the Duchess of Sussex's to attend her wedding to Prince Harry.
She reportedly considered moving to the UK to be nearer to her daughter at one stage, it's claimed.
However, biographer Sean Smith, has said Ms Ragland had a 'tough time' after Meghan was born in 1981.
In his book, Meghan Misunderstood, he claims Ms Ragland, who was married to the royal's father at the time, Thomas Markle, was also living with her husband's two teen children from a previous marriage.
Mr Smith explained: “She had to cope with not only looking after a small baby but also maintaining the peace in such a fractious household.”
She also dealt with living in a predominantly white neighbourhood, he added.
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Mr Smith said: “Woodland Hills was a pleasant, middle-class, predominantly white neighbourhood in the Valley, as it was called.”
Meghan once described the area as “leafy and affordable”, but noted: “What it was not, however, was diverse."
She continued: “And there was my mum, caramel in complexion with her light-skinned baby in tow, being asked where my mother was since they assumed she was the nanny.”
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Mr Smith continued: “While they [Thomas and Ragland] have never publicly acknowledged how difficult it was for them being an interracial couple in Woodland Hills back then, it’s easy to imagine it was a constant battle.
“Meghan herself has said that she was too young to understand that they were living with institutional prejudice.”
Ms Ragland moved into her mother Jeanette's house with Meghan, and later relocated to a different neighbourhood in midtown LA. She had joint custody of her daughter with her ex-husband.
She continued to raise the Duchess as a conscious citizen, and Meghan has praised her mum for opening her eyes.
Recalling the incident for an essay in Elle, she claimed: “My mum raised me to be a global citizen with eyes open to sometimes harsh realities.”
Meghan has always been proud of her heritage and was credited with bringing the Royal Family into the modern era when she was the first biracial spouse to marry into the ancient institution.
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