Meghan Markle’s mum still uses the adorable nickname she gave her daughter as a child

Meghan’s mum chanted ‘my little flower is going to be a princess’ after hearing about her engagement to Prince Harry, the duchess’s uncle has revealed.

Doria Ragland, 62, gave the now Duchess of Sussex, 37, the adorable nickname ‘flower’ when she was a child – and still uses it today.

Doria’s half-brother Joseph Johnson said he believes Doria will be a ‘great’ grandmother, adding: ‘If she helps raise the child anything like Meghan was raised’.

Joseph told MailOnline how him and Doria had been inspired by their strong mum Jeanette, who helped her raise Meghan.

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He described his mum – Meghan’s grandmother – ‘like the man of the family – and the wife and the mother’ and said she was ‘quite a pistol’.

Jeanette was first married to Joseph Jonson Senior, the father of Joseph and Meghan’s aunt Saundra. She then married antiques dealer Alvin Ragland, Doria’s dad.

Jeanette raised her children for the most part as a single-parent, and their upbringing was affected by poverty and the racial segregation rife in America.

At one point, the family was chased out of a white-only town in Texas.

Joseph said the experiences made Jeanette a stronger person, and a big inspiration for the rest of the family, especially Doria – who then passed it down to Meghan.

Following Meghan’s birth on August 4, 1981, Doria was quick to return to work for financial reasons, which meant Meghan spent a lot of time with her grandmother.

Joseph explained that Doria and Jeanette lived around the corner form each other and his mum ‘played a big part in caring for Meghan’.

Meghan and Jeanette remained a close bond until she died of a stroke and heart disease aged 71, in 2000.

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Joseph, who wanted to share the other side of the family’s side, also said he doesn’t recognise the Meghan he’s read about in the press, and the nicknames.

He said ‘Duchess Difficult’, is not the ‘wonderful person’ he knows.

Joseph, who lives in Los Angeles, added: ‘I really admire Doria for the way she raised her. She is not afraid to be herself and I think she gets that courage from her mother.’

However, he did admit that Meghan enjoys being a royal and added: ‘I have read that some of Harry’s old girlfriends couldn’t handle the scrutiny. But from what I hear, from what Doria says about Meghan, she loves it.’

Meghan is due to give birth to her and Harry’s first child any day now.