MEGHAN’S PAINFUL MISCARRIAGE
THE DUCHESS OF SUSSEX SPEAKS OUT FOLLOWING A DEVASTATING MISCARRIAGE
They’ve been regularly appearing on Zoom calls from their Santa Barbara home to support the causes close to their heart during the pandemic. But the beaming smiles of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were hiding an extremely painful secret. In a raw and heartfelt opinion piece, she penned for The New York Times on November 25, Meghan, 39, revealed she and husband Prince Harry had lost their second child through a devastating miscarriage.
The duchess revealed she felt a “sharp cramp” while changing her 18-month-old son Archie’s nappy. “I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second,” she wrote before describing the grief she and Harry, 36, experienced following the tragic loss.
“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,” Meghan explained.
In stark contrast to the British royal family’s motto of “Never complain, never explain”, the mum-of-one’s emotional and searingly honest admission was an attempt to reduce the stigma associated with speaking about pregnancy loss. It’s estimated that as many as one in four recognised pregnancies will end in miscarriage.
“Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few,” she explained. “Yet despite the staggering commonality of this pain, the conversation remains taboo, riddled with (unwarranted) shame, and perpetuating a cycle of solitary mourning,” she continued.
“There is a lot of sadness”
– SOURCE
The article was met with support from women who’ve shared a similar experience. “Miscarriage is an extremely difficult and stigmatised issue. The fact that she’s discussing it at all is tremendous,” shared one social media user.
A source close to the couple revealed to WHO’s sister publication People that the couple had shared the distressing news with the royal family. “There is a lot of sadness around the family,” the palace source said.
Meghan isn’t the first member of the royal family to open up about her experience with pregnancy loss. Harry’s cousin Zara Tindall, 39, was forced to confirm she’d lost a child in 2016 as her pregnancy had already been announced. “For me, the worst bit was that we had to tell everyone – everyone knew,” she told The Sunday Times in 2018. “I had to go through having the baby because it was so far along,” she added.
As the duke and duchess prepare to celebrate their first Christmas since they “stepped down” from royal duties and moved to the United States, Meghan finished her emotional essay by stating she hopes more people will check in on their loved ones.
“Let us commit to asking others, ‘Are you OK?’ As much as we may disagree, as physically distanced as we may be, the truth is that we are more connected than ever because of all we have individually and collectively endured this year,” she shared.