Prince Harry and Meghan Markle previously decided against hiring a Norland nanny and have, instead, opted to keep childcare within the family.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle only trust one person to care for their children (Image: GETTY)
Meghan Markle’s mum, Doria Ragland is said to be the only person that Prince Harry and Meghan trust to care for their two children when they are not around.
Doria, 67, is said to have taken on the role as Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet’s nanny, with the pair preferring to take on a “more traditional” approach when it comes to childcare.
As previously reported by Express.co.uk, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s decision to have Doria’s help has followed a series of unsuccessful partnerships with professional nannies over the past few years.
The Express earlier reported that a source said: “Harry and Meghan have used a number of nannies in the past, but now that Doria has moved in with the family, she has stepped up to help look after the children.
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“There is sometimes additional help, but Doria is working closely with Meghan to ensure that the children are brought up in a close-knit and loving family environment.”
Meghan and Harry previously hired Lorren Khumalo – a paediatric nurse and consultant – to care for Archie, now aged five, shortly after his birth in 2019.
Speaking in an interview last year, Lorren said she comforted by Harry’s welcoming demeanour and described the household as very “normal”.
It was also previously reported that Meghan and Harry had dismissed a night nanny after an unsettling nighttime incident with their son – something that made the pair wary of any future hires.
This incident was included in Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durrand’s book ‘Finding Freedom’, describing how Meghan and Harry let her go on her second night working for them for being “unprofessional and irresponsible”.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pictured with her mum Doria Ragland (Image: GETTY)
The experience led the couple to feel nervous about the prospect of a future nanny, and are now said to feel “comfortable” knowing their children are in the care of Doria.
Describing Meghan and Harry as “extremely protective” when it comes to their children, the source added: “Meghan feels much more comfortable with the children under her mother’s watchful eye and Harry was very keen to keep it [childcare] in the family.
“Both Harry and Meghan are extremely protective of their children and only stop worrying about them if Doria is in charge whenever they are away.
“Doria was instrumental in looking after Archie and Lilibet when they [Harry and Meghan] were in Nigeria and she treats them like they are her own.”
Harry and Meghan welcomed Princess Lilibet in 2021 (Image: NETFLIX/Harry and Meghan)
Doria has also taken up residence in the Sussexes’ £12million-pound mansion in California – something that allows her to avoid long car journeys from her own home in View Park-Windsor Hills in Los Angeles.
The source added: “Doria spends nearly all of her time with Harry and Meghan. It’s basically a family of five,” the source said. “She [Doria] is amazingly close to the children and helps Meghan daily. She also steps in as a nanny whenever they travel abroad without the children.
“Meghan thought it very important that the children be brought up by family rather than an outsider so they feel safe and secure at all times.”
