Meghan Markle's Mother Doria Ragland Has Arrived in London Ahead of the Birth of Baby Sussex

All hands on deck right now, royal family fans, because Meghan Markle’s mother Doria Ragland (opens in new tab) has reportedly touched down in the U.K. and arrived in London, sparking speculation that the royal baby could be due at any moment now (opens in new tab). I'm not saying panic, but...

Now would be a good time to set those news alerts, follow those royal reporters, and of course stay tuned at MarieClaire.com, because Doria’s journey across the pond has fans convinced that Baby Sussex’s arrival must be all-but-imminent.

It’s thought that Doria and Meghan, who share a particularly close mother-daughter relationship (opens in new tab), will be spending plenty of time together once the baby does arrive, as the L.A. resident has reportedly taken measures to be away from home for some time. According to The Sun (opens in new tab), Meghan’s mom has “hired a house sitter and dog walker" and "cancelled her yoga class”, indicating that she could be expected to stay in the U.K. with her first grandchild for the foreseeable.

"Like all mums, Doria wants to be there for her daughter at this seismic event in her life," a source told the publication. "She has sometimes worried about being so far away but she is absolutely going to be there for her at the birth."

Doria’s arrival might not be too much of a surprise if you’ve made a note in your calendar of rumored due dates. Back in January, during a royal appearance with husband Prince Harry (opens in new tab), Meghan told royal fans in Birkenhead that she was about six months pregnant, and that they were expecting Baby Sussex to make an appearance towards the end of April or early May (opens in new tab).

Kensington Palace shared in a statement in October that Doria was "very happy about this lovely news, and she looks forward to welcoming her first grandchild.”

Having Doria around while the Duchess of Sussex gets to grips with motherhood totally makes sense, too. The 62-year-old yoga instructor is known to be a fan of the calm, private, and quiet approach to life, which matches up perfectly with Meghan's reported "focus on calm and positive energy around the birth (opens in new tab)."

Meghan and Prince Harry recently made it clear that they plan to focus on precious family time and privacy following the birth of their first child, having only recently shared their decision to remain behind-the-scenes for at least a few days (opens in new tab) before their royal baby is revealed to the world. It's pretty lovely that grandmother-to-be Doria will get to be a part of that, too.

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