Additional Coverage:
- Team Sussex Responds to U.K. Broadcaster’s ‘Irresponsible’ Comments About Meghan Markle’s Mom (usmagazine.com)
UPDATE: December 16, 2025, 12:55 p.m. ET – Team Sussex has responded after U.K. broadcaster GB News issued an apology for comments made about Meghan Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland.
“Broadcasters have a responsibility to inform, not inflame,” a statement shared with Us Weekly read. “This lie was conclusively debunked more than two years ago, yet it continues to be recycled by irresponsible commentators, causing recurring harm.
Ms. Ragland proudly raised her daughter and has never been in prison.
GB News did not apologize voluntarily, but only to escape a defamation lawsuit – and it speaks volumes that GB News removed any trace of that apology within 24 hours of making it.”
Original story below:
U.K. news outlet GB News has formally apologized after a false claim was broadcast alleging that Meghan Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland, had been imprisoned.
The on-air apology was delivered on Monday, December 15, by broadcaster Carole Malone, who had earlier this month stated that Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle, “brought her up while her mother was in jail.”
Malone, 71, clarified her earlier remarks, saying, “On Thursday, December the 4th, 2025, I stated that Thomas Markle, the Duchess of Sussex’s father, brought Meghan up while her mother, Doria Ragland, was in prison.”
She continued, “I believed this to be the case based on what I now understand to be misinformation I had seen online. I was questioned about the validity of this claim during the broadcast and I repeated this belief, which I now understand to be false.”
Malone concluded her apology, stating, “This was a genuine error. I accept what I have been told on behalf of Ms.
Ragland – that she raised her daughter and that she has never been in prison or jail. I apologize sincerely to Ms.
Ragland and her family for any pain my comments may have caused.”
Us Weekly has sought comments from both GB News and Meghan Markle’s representatives regarding the matter.
Malone, a well-known U.K. newspaper columnist, initially made the inaccurate statements during a discussion concerning Thomas Markle’s recent hospitalization.
Thomas, 81, underwent surgery in the Philippines in early December for a below-the-knee amputation of his left leg.
According to his son, Thomas Markle Jr., who spoke with the Daily Mail, the elder Thomas suffered a blood clot that led to severe circulation issues, causing his limb to turn black.
“My dad is being very brave. His foot turned blue and then black.
It happened very quickly. I took him to a local hospital and they did some scans and an ultrasound and said the leg had to be amputated,” Thomas Jr. recounted.
He added, “There was no option. I was told the leg had to be removed and it was a case of life or death.”
“One of his doctors said the next two or three days are critical. His left leg has been removed below the knee.
They were worried about infection setting in – sepsis or gangrene. The flesh was black and dying,” Thomas Jr. further explained at the time.
A spokesperson for Meghan, 44, confirmed to Us Weekly on Wednesday, December 10, that the Duchess of Sussex successfully delivered a letter to her father amid his health crisis.
“With the support of reliable and trusted contacts, her correspondence is now safely in his hands,” the royal’s representative stated.
Meghan was primarily raised by her mother, Doria, 69, following Doria and Thomas’ divorce in 1987 after a decade of marriage.
Meghan has been estranged from her father since before her May 2018 wedding to Prince Harry. Thomas was accused of orchestrating paparazzi photos for financial gain in the period leading up to the royal wedding.
During a 2022 episode of their Netflix docuseries, Harry and Meghan, Meghan recalled, “H and I called my dad. I said, ‘They’re saying you’re taking money from the tabloids to stage photos.
Is this true?’ He says, ‘No.’”
She continued, “And on that call, I’d said to him, ‘Look. If they can’t stop this story, then it’s going to come out tomorrow, so why don’t we send someone right now to your house to get you out of there now because if that’s the case, your house will be swarmed by media.
We’ll get you out.’”
She added, “He said, ‘No. I have things I need to do.’
And it felt really cagey. I was like, ‘It doesn’t make sense.’
And when we hung up, I looked at H. I was like, ‘I don’t know why, but I don’t believe him.’”