‘It was love at first sight,’ Thomas Markle said when his youngest daughter, Meghan, was born.

With two kids from a previous marriage, the 37-year-old lighting director was building a new life with a woman he met while working on the set of General Hospital.

For Doria Ragland, who turns 69 today, Meghan was her first – and only – baby.

Tom Bower mentions in his book, Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors, that Thomas continuously took photos of his daughter and supported her with Doria, ensuring that young Meghan received everything she desired.

Doria was 24 when her daughter, nicknamed ‘Flower’, was born on August 4, 1981.

She reportedly wanted to name her Rachel, but Thomas preferred Meghan, and within days, Bower wrote, Rachel was forgotten.

‘The look on his face was priceless,’ recalled Tom Junior, Thomas’s eldest child.

‘My dad was more in love with her than anyone else in the world, and that included Doria. She became his whole world, his little Princess.’ 

Bower, a former BBC journalist and prolific biographer, wrote: ‘Even as a baby, any signs of displeasure should instantly be placated with gifts.

‘Worshipped, their daughter would be endlessly reassured that she was special.

‘Her parents’ unconditional love inevitably shaped Meghan’s character and personality.’ 

Meghan, who was a main character in Suits before becoming part of the Royal Family, had ample support to chase her acting ambitions from an early age.

She shared how her parents, who grew up with little, instilled in her the importance of caring for others, demonstrating acts of kindness like purchasing Thanksgiving turkeys for homeless shelters and bringing meals to hospice patients.

As a child, she travelled to remote places with her mother and visited slums in Jamaica.

In a 2020 Channel 5 documentary, Thomas reflected on the impact acting had on Meghan, stating: ‘I feel I taught her pride, responsibility, and the value of work. I believe Meghan would acknowledge that I fulfilled my role as a father well.’

‘She was developing into a lovely young woman. I became involved in school plays after attending a couple and realizing they needed significant improvement.

‘I just offered to come in and put some lights in, build some scenery and make the shows real shows. Meghan was in almost all those shows.’

Doria instilled a powerful message in her daughter from a young age. Her motto was: ‘don’t give the milk away for free’ – or don’t do anything for nothing.’

Harry described his future mother-in-law as ‘amazing’ in a BBC interview to coincide with his engagement, and when baby Archie was born, Doria spent six weeks living with Harry and Meghan at Frogmore Cottage as they adjusted to parenthood. 

Even before Archie’s arrival, Doria took a special yoga class in LA aimed at soothing newborns through gentle movements.

Doria was the only member of Meghan’s side of the family to attend the royal wedding and was described as an ‘oasis of calm’ during the early months of Megxit, stoic and with an unwavering loyalty towards her daughter and son-in-law.

When Meghan was 11, she and her father moved into a flat close to her £13,500-a-year private girls’ school, Immaculate Heart.  

After she graduated from high school, she moved to Northwestern University, almost 2,000 miles away in Illinois.

Over the years, her and Thomas’s relationship came under strain, but it broke off entirely when he was found to have arranged pictures with paparazzi in the lead-up to the royal wedding in May 2018.

Thomas has since become an outspoken critic of the Duke and Duchess, accusing them of damaging the Royal Family by stepping back from their duties.

He has defended his decision to speak out against his daughter, saying: ‘Meghan owes me… It’s time to look after Daddy.’

But it seems the Queen’s famous phrase ‘recollections may vary’, which she wrote in a statement following Harry and Meghan’s explosive Oprah interview, seems to apply to Meghan’s childhood.

Bower claimed that Meghan loved glamour and celebrity, using her father’s connections in Hollywood to launch her teenage career.

‘I want to be an actress, ‘ she kept saying, according to the book.

Thomas even took Meghan to the Emmy awards ceremony when he was nominated for best lighting director.

After they walked down the red carpet, the 17-year-old said, ‘Daddy, I want to be famous just like you one day.’

Thomas nodded and went on to do everything to help make that dream come true, according to Bower.

Thomas wanted the best for his daughter, forking out on private primary and secondary schools.

But Meghan has painted a very different image of her childhood.

The Duchess spoke about her upbringing in her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, which is set for a second season. 

Speaking to Hollywood actress Mindy Kaling on the second episode, Meghan said she spent time on her own as a child because her parents were working.

She told Mindy: ‘I grew up with a lot of fast food and also a lot of TV tray dinners. 

‘It feels like such a different time but that was so normal with the microwavable kids’ meals. I grew up with that, watching Jeopardy! and having a lot of fast food.’

But according to Thomas, Meghan’s description of her childhood eating habits doesn’t quite match up with his memory.

Thomas said he would personally pick Meghan up every day from school, or send a car to fetch her if he was too busy.

Whatever the state of their shattered relationship now, it is clear that Meghan once enjoyed a close bond with her father and owed her world-class education to his hard work.

Despite this, Doria and Meghan have remained close, making appearances on her daughter’s podcast, Harry and Meghan’s bombshell Netflix docuseries, as well as a brief cameo at a brunch on the Duchess’s lifestyle series With Love, Meghan. 

Most recently, when Meghan’s As Ever Instagram page uploaded a post celebrating her birthday last month, eagle-eyed royal observers noticed a heartwarming detail.

She was pictured blowing out candles on a cake decorated with yellow edible flowers – and fans were quick to point out the possibility that this represents the nickname ‘Flower’ given to her by her mother

Meghan first divulged Doria referred to her as a ‘flower’ in a blog post on her now-defunct lifestyle blog The Tig, as she wrote: ‘Meg, MM, M&M, and Flower (which my mom has called me since I was little).’

She also discussed the nickname during an episode of her since-cancelled Spotify podcast Archetypes that was released in 2022, when Meghan admitted that Doria still calls her by the nickname that has been in use since she was a child.

As Doria quietly celebrates her birthday today, her low-key life out of the spotlight means she avoids constant media attention, unlike her daughter or ex-husband. 

But with the rift between father and daughter still as wide as ever, it seems unlikely Thomas will be making the 7,000-mile journey to reunite with Meghan any time soon.