After Meghan Markle exchanges vows with Prince Harry May 19, she’ll jet off on a luxurious honeymoon to melt the wedding stress away. (A source tells Us the couple “want somewhere tropical and to relax on a beach,” but haven’t settled on a destination just yet.) But her mom, Doria Ragland, “will be returning to work immediately” after taking just eight days off, says another insider.
The Los Angeles–based therapist, who sees patients at a nonprofit mental health clinic “has a full caseload and often works 14-hour days,” says the source. Not that the 61-year-old would trade it for all of the king’s gold: “She only got her social worker license in 2015,” explains the source, who adds that Ragland’s “lifelong dream” of becoming a counselor was realized when 36-year-old Markle used her acting money to help send her mother back to school.
“Meghan is very close with her mom,” a pal says. Indeed, the former Suits star even took an undercover trip to L.A. over Easter weekend for a break from planning the big I do’s. Markle and Prince Harry, 33, who announced their engagement in November 2017, will wed at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in front of around 600 guests — with the rest of the world watching on television. The chapel will be decorated with flowers (likely including “branches of beech, birch and hornbeam, as well as white garden roses, peonies and foxgloves”) designed by Philippa Craddock, Kensington Palace confirmed April 1.
And although she isn’t taking much time off to celebrate, Ragland will be right by her daughter’s side on the big day. Reveals a source, “Meghan wants her mother to walk her down the aisle.” Due to his “ongoing health issues,” explains another source, Markle’s father, Thomas, may not be able to attend the big day. “If he can make it then he will be the one to do the job, but there are concerns that he is not reliable,” explains the insider. “He’s expressed a huge desire to be there with Meghan.”
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