Take note, Thomas Markle. This is the reward for keeping your lip buttoned.
The Duchess of Sussex arrived at Kensington Palace today with Prince Harry and her mother, Doria Ragland, who introduced her self to guests as, 'Meg's Mom.'
Doria has won widespread praise for the dignified (and silent) way she has supported her daughter.
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Ragland was a surprise guest at an event to celebrate a London community kitchen’s cookbook launch—and her appearance immediately revived rumors that she could be looking for a permanent home in the U.K.
The yoga teacher is looking for a place in London, according to reports in Britain’s Daily Express, and is believed to have visited Harry and Meghan as little as two weeks ago, staying in their private Oxfordshire cottage.
A close friend of Ragland told the newspaper: “She is getting ready to move to London. I think she will be going as soon as possible.
“I know that she was eager to live closer to her daughter.
“She hasn’t been staying at her house for a while now. She has only visited the house very occasionally and when she is there, she has had a security guard with her.”
Ragland’s appearance with Meghan represents huge break from royal tradition, which usually restricts inlaws to fleeting walk-on appearances at larger events, such as Royal Ascot.
It also shows the importance that Meghan attaches to her support for the cookbook project.
Meghan has written a foreword for the Hubb Community Kitchen’s Together: Our Community Cookbook, as part of a drive to raise money for the kitchen so it can operate full-time, rather than its current two days per week.
The Hubb Kitchen was created in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster; the skyscraper was gutted in a devastating fire last year that killed 72 and left hundreds homeless.
Meghan, wearing a blue Smythe coat, Misha Nonoo skirt, and Tuxe top, later spoke for three minutes without notes as her mother and Prince Harry looked on proudly.
Standing with a small group of Hubb kitchen cooks, the Telegraph reports that Ragland hailed, “the power of women,” saying, “We make things happens. We're curious, we say yes, we show up. I'm inspired.”
The idea for the book reportedly came from the duchess after she was told, during a secret trip to the Hubb Kitchen, that the facilities were only open two days a week because of a lack of funds.
The book marks Meghan’s first solo project as a member of the royal family.
In the foreword, she writes: “I immediately felt connected to this community kitchen; it is a place for women to laugh, grieve, cry, and cook together.
“Melding cultural identities under a shared roof, it creates a space to feel a sense of normalcy—in its simplest form, the universal need to connect, nurture, and commune through food, through crisis or joy—something we can all relate to.
“Through this charitable endeavour, the proceeds will allow the kitchen to thrive and keep the global spirit of community alive.
“In January 2018, as I was settling in to my new home of London, it was important to me to get to know organisations working in the local community. I made a quiet trip to Al-Manaar, a mosque close to the Grenfell community.
“In 2017, I had watched the Grenfell Tower tragedy unfold on the news; I was in Canada at the time, sharing the global sentiment of shock and sympathy for what this community was enduring, while also deeply wanting to help.”
Meghan advised visitors to the kitchen: “Arrive on an empty stomach because upon departure you will have been stuffed to the gills with samosas flecked with cinnamon, chapatis flavoured with carrots and onion, Russian Semolina cake, Persian teas, and my very favourite avocado dip that I now make at home.”
Meghan also reveals in the book that one of her favorite meals “is collard greens, black-eyed peas and cornbread—a meal I would look forward to throughout my childhood: the smell of yellow onions simmering amongst a slow-cooked pot of greens from my grandma’s back garden; the earthy texture of peas; and a golden loaf of cornbread puff-puffing away to a browned peak in the warmth of the oven.”
