Duchess of Sussex reveals miscarriage ordeal

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, on Wednesday revealed she had a miscarriage in July this year, giving a personal account of the traumatic experience in the hope of helping others.

The former royal and husband Prince Harry have an 18-month-old son, Archie, and the Duchess of Sussex wrote in the New York Times: "I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second."

The duchess, 39, said she was sharing her anguish to help break the silence around an all-too-common struggle.

'Unbearable grief'

"Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few," she wrote. "In being invited to share our pain, together we take the first steps toward healing."

In a frank account, the duchess described 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," she continued. "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."

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Engulfed in grief ,the duchess wrote that as 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."

She wrote that many women will suffer through similar grief.

"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," she wrote.

Relinquished roles

Markle, an American actress and star of the series "Suits," married Harry, a grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, at Windsor Castle in May 2018.

Meghan and Harry announced their resignation from the royal family at the beginning of the year — stepping back from their roles, relinquishing their "royal highness" titles and moving to North America. The couple cited the intrusiveness and racist attitudes among the British media for their decision.

Buckingham Palace said on Wednesday that the miscarriage was "a deeply personal matter which we would not comment on." 

jsi/aw (AP, AFP)