EXCLUSIVE: Harry's girl is (almost) straight outta Compton: Gang-scarred home of her mother revealed - so will he be dropping by for tea?

  • Prince Harry's new girl, Suits star Meghan Markle, is from Crenshaw, LA
  • Crenshaw has endured 47 crimes in the past week - including murder
  • Gangs, including the Bloods, count the neighborhood as their territory
  • Markle' social worker mom, Doria Ragland, lives in the run-down area
  • And the actress's aunt, Ava Burrow, is in nearby gang-afflicted Inglewood

Plagued by crime and riddled with street gangs, the troubled Los Angeles neighborhood that Doria Ragland, 60, calls home couldn’t be more different to London’s leafy Kensington.

But social worker Ragland might now find herself welcoming a royal guest to downtrodden Crenshaw after Prince Harry was revealed to be dating her daughter - Suits actress Meghan Markle.

Markle, 35, is now based in Toronto, Canada, but her mother remains in LA and moved to her modest green-painted home five years ago after the death of her own father, Alvin, in 2011.

Home sweet home?  Prince Harry's new girl, Meghan Markle, grew up in this house in Crenshaw, Los Angeles, a troubled area that had 47 crimes in the past week - including murder

Home sweet home? Prince Harry's new girl, Meghan Markle, grew up in this house in Crenshaw, Los Angeles, a troubled area that had 47 crimes in the past week - including murder

Worlds apart: Though Harry and Markle (right) are enjoying a whirlwind romance, they are from very different worlds. Markle grew up in an area that was home to the Bloods gang

Markle was brought up in a large yellow-colored detached home in central Los Angeles, while her rumored royal boyfriend spent much of his childhood between Kensington Palace and Prince Charles’ Gloucestershire mansion, Highgrove.

But Harry’s literally palatial homes couldn’t be more different from the tatty one-storey homes that dominate much of Crenshaw.

And while there have been a total of 21 crimes in the immediate area around Highgrove over the past 12 months, 47 have taken place in Crenshaw in the last week alone - including murder and robbery.

Other crimes noted over the past seven days include multiple drug-related misdemeanors, vehicle thefts, vandalism and disturbing the peace.

Still there: Markle's mom still lives in Crenshaw, although she hasn't been seen since news of her daughter's relationship with Prince Harry went public

Still there: Markle's mom still lives in Crenshaw, although she hasn't been seen since news of her daughter's relationship with Prince Harry went public

Local gangs include Crenshaw Mafia Gangster, which has been plaguing the area since 1981, and Bloods affiliates Center Park Blood.

Operating close by are the Westside Rollin' 60's Neighborhood Crips, one of the largest street crime collectives in Los Angeles, and branches of the Compton-based Piru gang.

Nevertheless - and in spite of the gangs - parts of Crenshaw are considered to be improving, among them the aptly named Windsor Hills.

Neighbor Michael McWilliams, 49, said he had not seen Doria since news of her daughter’s alleged dalliance with Prince Harry broke but described her as ‘a nice woman’.

‘I’ve never seen the little girl [Meghan] though,’ added McWilliams. ‘She [Doria] has been living here since her daddy [Alvin] died.’

Markle remains close to her mother, who divorced her father Thomas, 72, when she was six, and is often seen with her on the red carpet.

Thomas, a lighting director, is currently thought to be in Mexico and recently filed for bankruptcy after racking up debts of $30,000 (£24,000).

Doria, who also filed for bankruptcy herself in 2002 over a $52,750 credit-card bill, appears to be the one of the defining influences in her daughter’s life.

Run-down: Neighboring Crenshaw is the crime-ridden neighborhood of Inglewood (pictured), which was namechecked in Dr Dre's The Next Episode

Run-down: Neighboring Crenshaw is the crime-ridden neighborhood of Inglewood (pictured), which was namechecked in Dr Dre's The Next Episode

Writing in an article about her background, Markle addressed being mixed race, saying: 'While I could say Pennsylvania and Ohio, and continue this proverbial two-step, I instead give them what they're after: "My dad is Caucasian and my mom is African-American."'

She also wrote about being a 'light-skinned' baby so when people saw her black mother pushing her in the pram 'they assumed she was the nanny.'

And she has spoken of how her mother's great-great grandfather was born into slavery and freed at the end of the Civil War.

Family ties: Markle's aunt, Ava Burrow (pictured with her son Joffrey Ragland), lives in Inglewood, which has long been affected by gang violence

Family ties: Markle's aunt, Ava Burrow (pictured with her son Joffrey Ragland), lives in Inglewood, which has long been affected by gang violence

Crenshaw is one of a cluster of Los Angeles boroughs famous for gangs - along with Compton, Long Beach, South Central and Inglewood.

The latter, which borders Crenshaw to the south, is also home to another member of Meghan’s family - her maternal aunt, Ava Burrow, 63.

Burrow, who was not at home when DailyMail.com visited, lives on an Inglewood street with the dubious distinction of having its own branch of the Bloods crime gang in situ.

Mistaken: Markle, who is mixed race, once wrote about how her darker-skinned mom would be mistaken for her nanny - something Harry would never have experienced

Mistaken: Markle, who is mixed race, once wrote about how her darker-skinned mom would be mistaken for her nanny - something Harry would never have experienced

Known as the Queen Street Bloods, famous former members include rapper Mack-10 and Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Marqise Lee.

Indeed, so famous is the area for gang crime, it was name-checked in Dr Dre’s 1999 rap hit The Next Episode along with Compton and Long Beach.

The crime-plagued neighborhoods of Markle’s mother and aunt are a far cry from the leafy part of Long Island where her former husband, Trevor Engleson, 40, grew up.

The Hollywood producer now lives in Los Angeles but was brought up in an affluent suburb of Long Island close to the New York City limits.

His parents declined to comment at their detached home.

One family friend, who declined to be named, said that the family had not spoken to Markle since the divorce.

Her ex-husband told relatives that he had learned of the actress's new romance at the weekend but was reticent to discuss it further.

Their divorce was in Los Angeles, where Markle legally resides although she spends much of her time in Toronto.

It was a 'quickie' divorce which used a legal procedure which limits the information the couple have to disclose - including their marital assets.

The papers associated with it show that both parties agreed to the split and that any financial settlement was entirely confidential.

Markle also gave up using her ex-husband's surname, the papers said.

He continues to run his production company from an office in Los Angeles and was not available for comment.

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