'Losing a child means carrying unbearable grief': Meghan Markle reveals she suffered a miscarriage
In what comes as an extremely personal disclosure from a high-profile British royal, Britan's Duchess of Sussex has revealed that she suffered a miscarriage. "I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second," Markle said in a piece for the New York Times. The former actress and Prince Harry's wife said that it took place one July morning when she was caring for Archie, the couple's son.
She said losing a child meant "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," Markle said, adding that despite the staggering commonality of this pain, the conversation remains taboo, riddled with (unwarranted) shame, and perpetuating a cycle of solitary mourning.
“In being invited to share our pain, together we take the first steps toward healing.”
Beginning to describe how tragedy struck on a “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.
“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.”
Later, she said, she “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.”
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Sophie King, a midwife at U.K. child-loss charity Tommy’s, said miscarriage and stillbirth remained “a real taboo in society, so mothers like Meghan sharing their stories is a vital step in breaking down that stigma and shame.”
“Her honesty and openness today send a powerful message to anyone who loses a baby: this may feel incredibly lonely, but you are not alone,” King said.
Meghan Markle, a British royal sharing her personal details is unusual. Markle laying bare her heart in such a way is like breaking away from the usual policy of senior members of the British royal family. Queen Elizabeth, Prince Harry's grandmother, has never discussed her private life in any media interview in her 68-year reign.
Meghan Markle and husband Prince Harry have an 18-month-old son, Archie. An American actress and star of TV legal drama “Suits,” Meghan married Harry, a grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, in a lavish ceremony at Windsor Castle in May 2018. Their son was born the following year.
Early this year, the couple said they were quitting royal duties and moving to North America, citing the "unbearable intrusions" and "racist attitudes" of the British media. They recently bought a house in Santa Barbara, California.
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