Kate and Meghan's mumalikes: From Carole and Doria's humble upbringings to their air hostess jobs and those embarrassing relatives, the VERY surprising similarities between the two mothers

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One is a laid-back LA social worker who sports a nose ring; the other a blow-dried-to-perfection Home Counties party planner with a reputation for being pushy.

At first glance, these two sixtysomethings appear to have little in common — except, of course, having raised daughters who are now on intimate terms with the Royal Family. But there are surprising parallels between Meghan Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland, who was pictured with her daughter and Prince Harry for the first time at the Invictus Games in Toronto last week, and Carole Middleton, mother to the Duchess of Cambridge.

Here, ANTONIA HOYLE reveals the striking similarities between the formidable matriarchs helping to shape our monarchy.

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Meghan Markle with her mother Doria Radlan (Doria Ragland) from Meghan Markle's Instagram

TWO TENACIOUS MATRIARCHS ON THE RISE

Both women (and, arguably, their daughters) seem to have inherited a steely resolve from forebears determined to better their lot.

Doria, 60, is the descendant of slaves, whose great-great-grandfather was forced to work on the cotton plantations of America’s Deep South and was freed after Abolition in 1865.

Subsequent generations rose to professional success, with Doria’s great-aunt Dora becoming a teacher and her father, Alvin, an antiques dealer.

Carole’s background lacks such brutal injustice, but she and her family had to surmount significant obstacles to end up hobnobbing with the aristocracy. Her mother’s side of the family were Geordie coal-miners; her father, Ronald, a builder. Both parents instilled a staunch work ethic in Carole, 62, who held a Saturday job at fashion retailer C&A by her teens.

BOTH GOT off to a flying start . . .

Yes, Carole’s career is more lucrative than Doria’s, with Party Pieces, the company she launched in 1987, now valued at around £30 million. But despite filing for bankruptcy in 2002, Doria has since established a similarly impressive, if less financially rewarding, portfolio career as a social worker and yoga instructor.

Catherine Middleton arriving with mother Carole Middleton, right, at the Goring Hotel, where she spent her last night as a single woman ahead of her wedding to Prince William in 2011

Long before either of them made their names, however, both apparently had stints working as air hostesses. Carole was a flight attendant for British Airways for three years in her 20s until she became pregnant with Kate, while friends of Doria’s have told the Mail she worked as a flight attendant after separating from her husband, Thomas Markle, when Meghan was young.

Presumably, Doria and Carole can discuss pesky passengers and the perils of jet lag when they do eventually meet.

. . . AND PICKED UP VERY HELPFUL HUSBANDS

Arguably, neither woman would have reached her current impressive standing without the help of the man she married.

When Doria met Meghan’s father, she was a 20-year-old studio temp while Thomas, 12 years her senior, was already a successful lighting director on a soap opera. The couple — who married in 1979 — divorced when Meghan was five years old, but they maintained joint custody of their daughter.

Doria Radland, mother of Meghan Markle, jogs with her dogs in Los Angeles, California

Although Thomas was recently declared bankrupt, it seems it was his career that helped pay for Meghan’s private schooling and gave her an entree into showbusiness.

Meanwhile, Carole’s husband Michael — whom she wed in 1980 — worked his way up from flight attendant to manager shortly after they met. He also inherited a significant sum of money from his great-grandfather, Francis, a wealthy wool merchant.

His estate of more than £70,000 — a figure now worth around £1.5 million — could have provided a safety net during the early years of Party Pieces.

ONLY THE BEST FOR THEIR PRINCESSES

Despite their own schooling being government-funded (according to her Facebook page, Doria attended Fairfax High in LA, while Carole was state-educated in London), both women pulled out all the stops to get their daughters the best education money could buy.

Doria’s former stepson, Thomas Markle Jr, 50, was arrested at his home in Oregon this January after allegedly holding a gun to his girlfriend’s head during a drunken row

Doria sent Meghan to Hollywood Little Red Schoolhouse, a private primary which boasts Elizabeth Taylor and Judy Garland as past pupils and, according to its website, feeds students six different types of vegetables from the school garden each week.

Meghan later attended the prestigious, all-girl Catholic Immaculate Heart High School, where fees are upwards of £12,000 a year.

Carole sent Kate, 35, Pippa, 34, and their brother James, 30, to Marlborough College. At £31,050 a year per day child, the fees must have been quite a sacrifice in the days before Party Pieces became the money-spinner it is now.

RED-FACED OVER THOSE RELATIVES

Should they ever find themselves stuck for conversation, Doria and Carole could always commiserate with one another on the embarrassing skeletons in their family closets. Doria has a double whammy, alas. 

Meghan Markle and her mom Doria Radlan go to eat at Fresh restaurant in Toronto, Canada

Former stepdaughter Samantha Grant, 52, from Thomas Markle’s first marriage, accused Meghan of being ‘narcissistic and selfish’ last year and is said to be penning a tell-all book with the working title The Diary Of Princess Pushy’s Sister. 

Carole has her gregarious brother Gary Goldsmith, a self-made IT recruitment millionaire

And her brother, Doria’s former stepson, Thomas Markle Jr, 50, was arrested at his home in Oregon this January after allegedly holding a gun to his girlfriend’s head during a drunken row.

He was cleared the following month after authorities were unable to locate his girlfriend.

Carole, of course, has her gregarious brother Gary Goldsmith. The self-made IT recruitment millionaire gave a revealing, 16-page interview to Hello! magazine describing William and Kate’s stay at La Maison de Bang Bang, his Ibizan home where he was once filmed preparing lines of cocaine and boasting he could set up a journalist with a prostitute in a tabloid newspaper sting.

THEY SPLASH CASH ON LOOKING GOOD

Doria — seemingly devoid of make-up in the pictures taken recently in Toronto — might not appear as fixated on her looks as Carole, who is a regular at hairdresser-to-the-stars Richard Ward’s salon (where highlights can cost up to £355) and who is rarely photographed without perfectly applied cosmetics.

Carole is also reportedly treated by celebrity facialist Linda Meredith, who counts Madonna among her clients and whose anti-ageing treatments cost around £150.

However, Doria is similarly keen on skincare. ‘When I was 13 years old, my mum had me start getting facials,’ Meghan has said.

Carole Middleton leaves Harry's Bar in Mayfair, London, showing off her style with LK Bennett sledge shoes

‘It seemed so silly at the time, trekking in my school uniform to see a woman named Anika who slathered my skin with Yon-Ka products [Yon-Ka Elixir Vital ‘rescue treatment’ sells for £76] and chatted away about the importance of eye cream.

‘My mum would give Anika a cheque (and usually some fruit she picked up for her at the farmers’ market, because she’s thoughtful that way) and we would drive home, with my mum, ever the little bird in my ear, saying: “You must always take care of your skin.” ’

ONE’S A YOGI — THE OTHER A TENNIS ACE

Few sixtysomethings look as slim as Doria or Carole without some serious hard graft.

Doria likes to run — she recently completed the LA Marathon — and keeps supple with yoga, a habit she’s bequeathed to her daughter, with whom she was recently pictured attending a yoga class.

Meghan has said: ‘I started doing mummy-and-me yoga with her when I was seven. I was very resistant as a kid, but she said: “Flower, you will find your practice, just give it time.” ’

Carole’s punishing regimen, meanwhile, includes tennis, daily swimming sessions in the heated pool at her £5 million Buckinghamshire mansion and hydro-spinning classes — a mix of high-intensity aqua aerobics and cycling.

FANS OF KALE AND GREEN TEA POWDER

Both women know the importance of eating well — even if they do take very different approaches.

According to Meghan, Doria conditioned her daughter ‘from the womb’ to like tacos, and plyed the family with lean meat.

‘Mum cooked a lot of turkey when I was growing up,’ Meghan has said. ‘Turkey meatloaf, turkey burgers, ground turkey shepherd’s pie.’

Doria’s Facebook page shows she ‘likes’ the book Weightless: My Life As A Fat Man And How I Escaped by Gregg McBride, which describes how he lost 250lb. She is also a Facebook fan of Wellborn Lifestyle by Rebecca, a Californian spa offering essential oil consultancy, and a ‘self-development’ site called The Aware Show, which focuses on ‘healing and achievement’.

Kate Middleton walks with her mother in London after the Princess Diana Tribute back when she was Prince Williams on and off girlfriend 

Equally health-conscious, although arguably less new-age about it, Carole is said to be a fan of the fashionable Sirtfood diet, which involves eating foods such as dark chocolate, matcha (green tea) powder and kale as they supposedly activate proteins called sirtuins to regulate the metabolism and slow the ageing process.

HELPING HANDS IN FINDING LOVE

Neither Doria nor Carole has been able to resist offering romantic guidance to her daughter — advice which seems to have been worth its weight in gold.

Meghan has said she doesn’t wear revealing clothes because Doria imposed strict limits on her as a teenager, explaining her reasoning bluntly: ‘Honey, never give the milk away for free.’

Carole, meanwhile, was rumoured (though of course never confirmed) to have persuaded the Duchess of Cambridge to change her choice of university on hearing that William was going to St Andrews, in the hope that the pair would meet and hit it off. She was later reported to have pressed William on when he intended to propose.

A CONTENDER TO CAROLE’S CROWN . . .

With her tendency towards plain trousers and leggings, sturdy boots and plain jumpers, Doria doesn’t seem an obvious rival to Carole’s best-dressed-mother crown. But it is possible she has been seeking advice from Meghan, a fashion aficionado who has designed two collections for retailer Reitmans.

At the Invictus Games last week, Doria, who appears to have lost weight recently, wore a blush-coloured floral and check lace top by Burberry that costs a cool £550.

The designer is, coincidentally, one of the Duchess of Cambridge’s favourites, while the pastel shade is beloved of Carole who often favours pinks — such as the Catherine Walker & Co coat dress she wore to Pippa’s wedding this May.

PICTURE RESEARCH: Claire Cisotti