Despite published reports to the contrary, Meghan Markle's mother, Doria Ragland, will not be joining her daughter and the rest of the Royal Family in Norfolk at Queen Elizabeth's Sandringham estate for Christmas.
Yesterday, People magazine confirmed the Los Angeles-based yoga instructor will not travel across the pond to celebrate the holiday with Queen Elizabeth, her son-in-law Prince Harry and the rest of the family.
As a royal insider told me, "The Queen was quite impressed with Ms. Ragland and wanted to extend the invitation because she knows how close Meghan is to her mother. It was an extraordinary gesture."
So why is Doria passing up a chance to spend the holiday with her daughter amid all the royal splendor?
"Like her daughter, Ms. Ragland is fiercely independent," said my Royal source. "She visited in September when Meghan's cookbook came out and she speaks to the duchess several times a week. She is planning on spending a quiet holiday is Los Angeles."
But there's another more pointed reason Doria is avoid England this Christmas. "She's concerned that all the interviews that her ex-husband, Thomas Markle, has been giving about him being shut out by Meghan is bad for her daughter. She wants no part of drawing more attention to the fact that neither of them want anything to do with him."
Earlier this week, Thomas appeared on Good Morning Britain and told Piers Morgan that he has been calling, texting, and writing to Meghan every day, but his daughter won't respond to any of his pleas for contact. He said during his latest television appearance: "I've been ghosted. I'm not sure why it's happening. I love my daughter very much. I wish she would reach out, send me a text, anything. There has to be a place for me. I'm her father."
The Emmy-winning lighting director even went so far as to suggest that the Queen might intervene on his behalf to encourage his daughter to get in contact with him.
"The situation is embarrassing for all concerned," said my source. "The Queen would like it to be sorted out, but Meghan feels it's best not to speak to her father, so nothing's happened thus far."
Last year, in a rare break with tradition, the Queen extended an unprecedented invitation to Sandringham to Meghan after she became engaged to Prince Harry. After becoming engaged to Prince William in 2010, Kate Middleton spent Christmas with her own family.
The Middletons have never joined the royals for Christmas. Instead William and Kate skipped Christmas at Sandringham in 2016 opting instead to attend church with Kate's family in Englefield, England, near her childhood home, with Prince George and Princess Charlotte in tow.
The news of Doria's decision to stay stateside this Christmas comes after it was also confirmed that she will not, as previously reported, be moving in with Harry and Meghan when the expectant parents leave Kensington Palace and move into their new home, Frogmore Cottage in Windsor next year. "She will have her own rooms in the new residence," said my source. "But she's not moving to England any time soon." And for more royals drama, here's Why Everyone's Freaking Out Over the Way Meghan Cradles Her Baby Bump.
Diane Clehane is a New York-based journalist and author of Imagining Diana and Diana: The Secrets of Her Style.
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