MEGHAN: MY STRUGGLES
Not many people have asked if I’m okay but it’s been a hard year being a new mother as well as a newlywed, she says
THE Duchess of Sussex has opened up about the struggles of becoming a new mother under the glare of the media spotlight.
In an emotional interview, Meghan admitted feeling ‘vulnerable’ during her pregnancy – and said the experience was ‘made really challenging’.
She thanked ITV’s Tom Bradby for his questions before adding: ‘Not many people have asked if I’m OK.’
The 38-year-old had her first child, Archie, in May, after marrying Prince Harry last year. In a preview of a documentary about the royal couple being broadcast tomorrow, she is shown speaking to Mr Bradby.
His voiceover said: ‘There was another story in this film... of the true pressures of life in the spotlight and the toll it has taken on them both.’ The duchess then said: ‘Look, any woman, especially when they are pregnant, you’re really vulnerable and so that was made really challenging, and then when you have a newborn... you know.
‘And especially as a woman, it’s a lot. So you add this on top of just trying to be a new mother or trying to be a newlywed it’s, well…’
She added: ‘And, also thank you for asking, because not many people have asked if I’m OK. But it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.’ When asked by Mr Bradby if it would be fair to say that she is ‘not really OK’ and that it has ‘really been a struggle’, Meghan responded: ‘Yes.’
In the one-hour documentary, Harry and Meghan: An African Journey, Mr Bradby follows the royal couple and their young son on their recent tour of Africa.
The first trailer from the programme, released on Thursday, showed Prince Harry talking about how he is reminded of his mother’s death every time he sees a photographer.
He said every time he sees a ‘flash’ of a camera or hears a ‘click’, it is the ‘worst reminder of her life’.
It is understood the timing of the documentary and the release of preview clips has raised eyebrows among the royal households.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge yesterday concluded a hugely successful tour of Pakistan. Meanwhile Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall have a twopart documentary of their own coming out soon which has been months in the making. But it is believed Harry, Meghan and their team were determined for their documentary to be released this week.
During their ten-day African visit last month, the duke went to Angola – where his mother Diana launched an anti-landmine campaign, her last major advocacy before her death. When asked by Mr Bradby if he has yet ‘found peace’,
Harry said that the grief still remains – describing it as ‘a wound that festers’.
He said: ‘I think being part of this family, in this role, in this job, every single time I see a camera, every single time I hear a click, every single time I see a flash it takes me straight back – so in that respect, it’s the worst reminder of her life as opposed to the best.’ Harry added that his tour of Africa with his young family affected him greatly, but he bears the weight of losing his mother every day – particularly when carrying out royal duties.
He said: ‘Being here now 22 years later, trying to finish what she started, will be incredibly emotional – but everything that I do reminds me of her. But as I said with the role, with the job, and the sort of pressures that come with that, I get reminded of the bad stuff unfortunately.’
The trip was also Archie’s first royal tour, as the new parents were reluctant to be separated from him too long. Speaking on the trip, Meghan revealed a lot of the arrangements were
‘Toll it has taken on them’
made to revolve around his feeding times.
She said: ‘It’s a full plate, but we’re making it work.’
The documentary comes just weeks after the Duke of Sussex launched an extraordinary attack on the Press, comparing recent media coverage of his wife to that of his late mother.
Harry said in a statement issued at the start of this month: ‘My deepest fear is history repeating itself. I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person.’
Harry and Meghan: An African Journey will be broadcast on STV tomorrow at 9pm.