Meghan Markle should ‘learn from her mother’s maturity’ as Doria is ‘surprise star’ of Netflix documentary, expert says

DORIA Ragland is eclipsing Meghan and Harry in their new Netflix documentary series, a body language expert has claimed.

And she hopes the Duchess of Sussex will tone down her dramatics as she begins to recognize her mom’s charisma and appeal.

In an exclusive interview, body language expert Judi James told The U.S Sun: “Doria is the true, surprise star of the series because she has the maturity to apply a calmer approach that hopefully Meghan will learn for herself.

“Before now, while Harry and Meghan have been suffering from over-exposure, Doria was more of a publicly silent enigma who, like the late queen, refused to comment in public and who, in her own words, held the line.

“Her appearance is a revelation as she manages to combine love and loyalty with openness, a sense of calm and grudge-free reasonableness.

“This sits well between the dramas and angst coming from all sides and as we see more of Doria, her calm comments will balance some of the dramatic rhetoric from Meghan and Harry.”

While part two of Netflix’s Harry & Meghan is set to drop this Thursday, the first three episodes offered up new details of the Sussexes’ relationship from courtship to marriage.

At the same time Harry and Meghan spoke candidly about steering through any bias within royal circles, while criticizing the wide media attention they’ve garnered along the way.

The aftermath saw a global backlash surround the two celebrities, while Meghan’s diminutive, softly spoken mom created some of the most powerful viewing.

Previously the public had only known the 66-year-old when she attended Harry and Meghan’s 2018 wedding, with Meghan going on to include Doria in one of her Archewall podcasts.

“In the first Netflix episode, Doria sits calmly with her hands in her lap, wearing a soft, peach-colored wrap top that seems to endorse a sense of calmness rather than being chosen to make a strong statement of intent, ” notes Judi.

“Meghan and Doria already share a lot of traits like the tendency to hug and be warm and tactile and they both have the skill of narration and explaining things persuasively.

“Doria even shows several signals of loving support to Meghan as Meghan does to Harry, but for Doria, there’s a sense of fairness about her body language here that’d imply she could register loyalty but avoid upsetting or angering anyone.

“She’s clearly a loyal mother but in a way that any of the royals should recognize and empathize with.

“Her likeability in this series won’t diminish with this long-awaited appearance.

“The UK fell in love with Doria’s demeanor at the royal wedding but without even hearing her speak.

“Before now, the only hint of her voice came when she popped up quickly in one of Meghan’s podcasts recently and asked ‘how’s my girl?’ which gave a hint of the nature of the relationship between mother and daughter.

“In the first three Netflix episodes, Doria talks about events and describes her emotional responses verbally but also assertively, without over-acting her emotions as many others do in this series.

“Perhaps her most frequently-displayed emotion so far is sadness at what’s happened, which is probably an emotion shared by viewers on both sides of the Atlantic.”

Cleveland-born Doria met Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle on the set of a US soap back in the 70s. The pair went on to marry before splitting when Meghan was just two years old.

Today, Doria lives alone in California and just a stone’s throw from Meghan and Harry’s sprawling Montecito home, which they bought after stepping down from their duties in 2020.

And since her daughter’s wedding, Doria has become a grandmother to both Archie and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor, the latter of which was born nearby in Santa Barbara.

In the much-anticipated Netflix series, Doria opens up for the very first time about her first encounter with Harry, plus how she thinks that race played a part in the demise of the Sussexes high-profile relationship with the royals.

“They begin Doria’s interview with an ‘off-camera’ moment, showing her prepping as they set up, ” explains Judi.

“This is revealing as we see little if any change between this Doria and the Doria we see once the interview starts.

“Many celebs ‘mask’ when the cameras start rolling but the Doria we see in front of the cameras seems to be the same as the one off-camera, with this authenticity creating some powerful and compelling charisma.

“There are some signs of bracing herself in the way she sucks her lips in and throws a small, anxious glance to the side, but her friendliness shows when she smiles as she is asked to introduce herself.

“She says ‘my name is Doria, and I’m Meghan’s mom’, which suggests low levels of vanity and ego and a natural priority in terms of her life roles.

“There’s no real sense of self-pity from her body language as she says ‘the last five years have been challenging’, before she glances down in a reflective cut-off and says ‘yuh’, with a sight before smiling again.

“Doria talks about events and describes her emotional responses verbally but also assertively, without over-acting her emotions as many others do in this series.

“When she’s describing an actual event, like when Meghan first rang her to tell her she was dating Harry, or when a member of the press stopped her out driving to ask for a story, she uses illustrative or mime rituals to role-play what happened, which always gives a sense of total credibility and a desire to share experiences.

“When they visit Meghan’s old school Doria looks just as comfortable as her daughter with the warm hugging and enthusiastic responses.

“Meghan’s like a loud, excited child but Doria is the perfect support, watching her daughter speak and offering active listening signals of approval, like nodding and eye-gaze to register loyalty and affection.

“She allows Meghan to take the spotlight here, offering a validating, that’s true, as the women speak.”

The body language expert also noted: “I wouldn’t describe Doria as being timid at the wedding as she looked quite brave and rather solitary sitting by herself but quietly confident given the circumstances, and totally proud of her daughter.

“Her silence since then has hinted at either a potential firmness and stoicism or an angry resentment of the press though, but here she is a revelation: friendly, warm, open, and natural and seeming to have no fear or wariness of sharing her experiences.

“In the first episode, Doria spoke about difficult subjects like her ex-husband’s behavior and the press intrusion but without adding to the already explosive drama that has blown up around the marriage and the family problems on both sides.

“Hopefully Meghan will learn so things don’t hurt so much in the future and she can relax and enjoy her life with Harry.”