Meghan Markle reveals devastating miscarriage in New York Times piece

After months of pregnancy rumours, Meghan Markle has publicly revealed a private heartbreak she and Prince Harry have suffered.

Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, has revealed she suffered a miscarriage in a heartbreaking personal essay for the New York Times.

“It was a July morning that began as ordinarily as any other day: Make breakfast. Feed the dogs. Take vitamins. Find that missing sock. Pick up the rogue crayon that rolled under the table. Throw my hair in a ponytail before getting my son from his crib,” the 39-year-old wrote in an opinion piece called “The Losses We Share”.

Speaking about her now 18-month-old son with Prince Harry, Archie, she said: “After changing his diaper, I felt a sharp cramp. I dropped to the floor with him in my arms, humming a lullaby to keep us both calm, the cheerful tune a stark contrast to my sense that something was not right.

“I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second.”

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The couple in South Africa. Picture: Michele Spatari / AFP

In the searingly honest piece, Meghan wrote of lying in a hospital bed hours later and holding Prince Harry’s hand while remembering an emotional moment on their trip to South Africa.

“I felt the clamminess of his palm and kissed his knuckles, wet from both our tears. Staring at the cold white walls, my eyes glazed over. I tried to imagine how we’d heal,” she said.

“I recalled a moment last year when Harry and I were finishing up a long tour in South Africa. I was exhausted. I was breastfeeding our infant son, and I was trying to keep a brave face in the very public eye.”

At the time, the couple had endured months of intense media interest following their wedding in May 2018 and were in the closing days of a 10-day tour of Southern Africa.

Prince Harry had issued an angry statement slamming press intrusion into the young couple’s lives, saying he feared “history repeating itself” in reference to the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997.

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Meghan and Harry at their engagement announcement in November 2017. Picture: Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP

At their wedding in May 2018. Picture: Ben STANSALL / AFP

Meghan wrote of how ITV journalist Tom Bradby asked her if she was OK, and she “answered him honestly, not knowing that what I said would resonate with so many — new moms and older ones, and anyone who had, in their own way, been silently suffering.”

“My off-the-cuff reply seemed to give people permission to speak their truth. But it wasn’t responding honestly that helped me most, it was the question itself.”

“Thank you for asking,” I said. “Not many people have asked if I’m OK.”

In the wake of the miscarriage, she said the “are you OK” question is the only way to begin to heal after what has been a devastating year for many amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Meghan and Prince Harry married in May 2018 and are parents to Archie, who was born in May 2019.

They famously left the royal family in January 2020 and have been living in California since earlier this year, isolated from Prince Harry’s family and friends.

In July the Duchess also faced a court hearing for her case against the Mail on Sunday and applied to stop five of her friends who spoke to People magazine being named.

The book Finding Freedom was also published, detailing the inner workings of Megxit and what life was like inside the royal family for the couple.

Meghan Markle speaks out about George Floyd and Breonna Taylor during lockdown. Picture: YouTube.

Meghan and Archie. Picture: The Duke of Sussex/@SaveChildrenUK via Getty Images

Meghan and Harry in one of their final public engagements as royals. Picture: JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP

In the New York Times article, Meghan spoke of the devastation many have suffered from COVID-19 and the tragic deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement.

She said “losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few.”

“In the pain of our loss, my husband and I discovered that in a room of 100 women, 10 to 20 of them will have suffered from miscarriage. Yet despite the staggering commonality of this pain, the conversation remains taboo, riddled with (unwarranted) shame, and perpetuating a cycle of solitary mourning.”

“Some have bravely shared their stories; they have opened the door, knowing that when one person speaks truth, it gives license for all of us to do the same.

“We have learned that when people ask how any of us are doing, and when they really listen to the answer, with an open heart and mind, the load of grief often becomes lighter — for all of us. In being invited to share our pain, together we take the first steps toward healing.”

In 2018, the Queen’s granddaughter, Zara Tindall, revealed she had a second miscarriage shortly after losing her unborn child in 2016.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, she said: “I had to go through having the baby because it was so far along. I then had another miscarriage really early on,” she said.

Charles Spencer, the brother of Princess Diana, also said his thoughts were with Meghan and Harry.

“I can’t imagine the agony for any couple for losing a child in this way. I totally agree with you – all thoughts with them today,” he said on UK daytime television.

Read the full article in the New York Times. For support with miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal death contact Australian charity Sands.

Originally published as Meghan Markle reveals devastating miscarriage in New York Times piece