By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 19, 2022 — Before she was the Duchess of Sussex or even a famous actress, Meghan Markle was simply a regular child of upper-middle-class Los Angeles. She was born in 1981 in the Canoga Park region of L.A. to Thomas Markle Sr., who is white, and Doria Ragland, who is Black. As a mixed-race child, her marriage to Prince Harry at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on Saturday, May 19, 2018 catapulted her into the international spotlight.
There is no question that a sector of the British Press placed her daily life under a microscope, more likely than not for racist reasons, resulting in her and Prince Harry – the Duke and Duchess of Sussex — deciding to “break” from the royal family in March of 2021 and relocate to the United States.
But although she was not born into British Royalty, Megan Markle has always conducted herself with the dignity and grace of a Royal Princess in every sense of the definition. She demonstrated this without a doubt as hundreds of thousands – actually by some estimates, millions – paid tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in the aftermath of Her Majesty’s death.
When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex chose to break from the Royal Family in March 2021, they relinquished the duties, income, and security protection that come with being “working” royals. And although Prince Harry had served in the British military with distinction for a decade – including two tours of duty in Afghanistan — he also gave up his military titles. Nonetheless, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex occupied highly visible positions in the events leading up to the State Funeral.
And as one newspaper report in an article on the State funeral noted: “Prince Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle, was seen in tears as the Queen’s coffin was transferred into the State Hearse at Wellington Arch before the monarch leaves London for the last time. The Queen will now be transported to Windsor Castle in Berkshire in the State Hearse.”
To be sure, my heart was bursting with pride as I watched Doria Ragland’s daughter, who was born in the Canoga Park region of Los Angeles, regally exhibit the values instilled in her as a child by her mother while carrying out her responsibilities as the Duchess of Sussex during the events leading up to the State Funeral as well as the State Funeral; so much so that I collected a series of photos of the Duchess at the State Funeral events for a PHOTO ESSAY on Facebook and for my files.
Because Megan’s father is white, she has been ethnically classified as mixed-race. So is President Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, whose mother was white and his father was Black, and in my opinion, President Obama was one of the greatest Presidents in the history of the United States.
Given the excellent mixed-race human beings both President Obama and Megan Markle are, I can’t help but be mischievous in suggesting that maybe the world would be a better place if racism was not such a predominant factor in far too many countries and there were more interracial marriages. Think about it.
