[3] The Markle (formerly spelled Merckel) family on his father's side have ethnic German 18th-century origins from the Alsatian town of Lampertsloch, Hanau-Lichtenberg, now part of Bas-Rhin, France.
[16][18] Markle married student and secretary Roslyn Loveless in 1964; they had met the year before at a campus party at the University of Chicago.
[19] He married Doria Ragland at the Self-Realization Fellowship Temple of Paramahansa Yogananda in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on December 23, 1979, officiated by Brother Bhaktananda.
[21][22] Both parents contributed to raising Meghan and, at the age of nine, she started living full-time with her father as Ragland pursued a career.
[23] He paid for Meghan's private education from preschool at Hollywood Little Red Schoolhouse to Northwestern University as well as living expenses.
[24] In addition to his regular job, Markle spent time helping with lighting for plays and musicals at Immaculate Heart High School, which Meghan attended.
[27] In 2018, Markle was the subject of considerable media speculation as to whether he would attend his daughter Meghan's wedding to Prince Harry, at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom.
[30] His elder daughter, Samantha, later stated that it was her idea, and that her father's motivation was not financial but "to show the world that [he's] getting in shape and doing great healthy things.
[45][46] In January 2020, it was revealed that The Mail on Sunday could possibly use evidence provided by Markle against his own daughter in an ongoing legal battle between the paper and the Duchess.
[47] In the same month, he said in an interview that Meghan is "tossing away every young girl's dream of becoming a princess, for money", and that she and Harry are "destroying and cheapening" the royal institution, and that they are "lost souls".
[49] In July 2021, Markle stated that he would be petitioning California courts for rights to see his grandchildren Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet of Sussex.