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Meghan Markle reveals ‘unbearable grief’ of miscarriage

‘I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second,’ duchess of Sussex writes

Miscarriage: the duke and duchess of Sussex with their son Archie. Photograph: Toby Melville/PA Wire

Wed Nov 25 2020 - 09:41

Meghan Markle has revealed that she had a miscarriage, an extraordinarily personal disclosure coming from a high-profile British royal.

The duchess of Sussex and wife of Prince Harry writes about the experience in detail in an opinion article in the New York Times today, saying that it took place one July morning when she was caring for Archie, the couple's son.

“After changing his diaper,” she writes, “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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“Hours later, I lay in a hospital bed, holding my husband’s hand. 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.”

The former actor continues: “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.”

The intimate details are strikingly at odds with the usual policy of senior members of the British royal family, who reveal almost nothing about their personal lives. Harry’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth has never discussed her private life in any media interview in her 68-year reign.

Meghan and Harry stepped back from royal duties and moved to the United States earlier this year. They have been trying to forge a new role for themselves outside the constraints of life in Britain's strictly codified royal bubble. – Reuters

Meghan MarklePrince Harry