Meghan Markle’s Uncle Thinks Her ‘Sweetest’ Personality Is Because She’d Never Been Spanked As A Kid

Another member of Meghan Markle‘s American family is speaking out with insight about the duchess’ childhood, according to the Daily Express. This time, it’s her 70-year-old uncle, Joseph Johnson. He is the older half-brother of Meghan’s mom, Doria Ragland. The uncle and Doria have the same mother, different fathers. He described what he remembers about Meghan when he would see her over Thanksgiving holidays, presumably when she was young.

“[Meghan was] always just the sweetest, most pleasant little girl…a joy to be around,” he said.

Johnson then described how his upbringing was different, and how he thinks the duchess’ demeanor is thanks to her never having been spanked.

“My mother believed in not sparing the rod. Meghan, on the other hand, I don’t think she’s ever had a spanking so I really learned a lot from the way my sister raised her in that you raise a different person. You raise a more reasonable person that’s easy to discipline,” he said.

“They understand a different way what you’re trying to discipline them for and it was just a beautiful thing to know that she had never been spanked and how pleasant she turned out.”

Johnson then went on to speculate that Archie would be brought up in the same way that she was.

The uncle also released photos of Meghan’s childhood from the holidays. It’s unlikely that this was happy news for the duchess and Prince Harry, who have previously expressed to her dad, Thomas Markle, the importance of maintaining privacy.

Johnson hasn’t been in the limelight as much as some of the duchess’ other American family members, but in general, Meghan has seemingly been out-of-touch with most relatives. The only one that appears to have an active role in Meghan and Archie’s life at this point is Doria Ragland, with whom the duchess and Harry are expected to spend Christmas this year. And of course, Doria has stayed out of the media, although it’s likely that she’s been approached many times by different outlets.

And while Johnson recently released holiday photos, he previously released Meghan’s baby photos in April. This included the first-ever photo that was taken of the duchess when she was first born, with Doria holding her in her arms. Meghan wore a blue smock. Another photo was of Meghan’s first steps, as she wore a pink outfit, and another showed her wearing a onesie that read, “Life Begins.” In total, Johnson released 30 pictures to the press.