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LONDON – Meghan Markle said on Wednesday that she had suffered a miscarriage, writing in an article about her “unbearable grief” and society’s need for empathy at a time of great loss and isolation.
In an opinion piece titled “The Losses We Share” published in the New York Times, the British Duchess of Sussex, wife of Prince Harry, revealed that her miscarriage occurred in July.
She describes a normal morning feeding her dogs, taking her vitamins, and changing her son Archie’s diaper, before experiencing a sharp cramp.
“I fell to the ground,” wrote Markle, 39. Adding, she had “a feeling that something was wrong. I knew, by hugging my firstborn, that I was losing my second.”
“Hours later, I’m lying in a hospital bed, holding my husband’s hand,” she wrote. “Looking at the cold white walls, my eyes glazed over. I tried to imagine how we would heal.
“Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but which few people talk about,” she added.
About 10 to 20 percent of known pregnancies end in miscarriage, according to data from the Mayo Clinic, a US nonprofit academic medical center.
Despite the “staggering commonality of this pain,” Markle wrote, “the conversation remains taboo, riddled with (unwarranted) shame and perpetuating a cycle of lonely mourning.”
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Her deeply personal revelation, Markle writes, comes amid a larger discussion about the importance of asking, “Are you okay?” during a time full of tragedy brought on by the coronavirus pandemic and social media accounts on the race.
“This year has brought many of us to our breaking points. Loss and pain have plagued all of us in 2020, in times both tense and debilitating,” she wrote.
The former actress, whose mother is black, has already spoken out on issues of racism and called the May police murder of George Floyd “absolutely devastating” after it sparked global protests.
The image of a biracial and foreign woman welcomed into the bosom of white, traditionalist Britain after marrying Prince Harry in a fairytale wedding in 2018, carried enormous symbolism – and signaled greater inclusion and tolerance.
But since their marriage, the couple have repeatedly complained about toxic media coverage, which their supporters say has at times turned into racist harassment and intimidation.
In the editorial, Markle discussed the Black Lives Matter campaign and the need to reach out to alleviate “the burden of grief.” She also spoke of the “division” and “polarization” in the wake of the recent US election, leaving many “more lonely than ever”.
Prince Harry and Buckingham Palace did not comment on the article.
The British Royal Family has come under scrutiny this month after millions of people tune in to the latest series of “The Crown” and questions have also arisen about how a historic interview with Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, was obtained 25 years ago.
The Sussexes, who now live in Los Angeles, then stunned the British establishment in January by choosing to “step down” from royal duties and settle in North America with Archie, born in May 2019.
In the run-up to the Thanksgiving holiday, Markle urged individuals and families to “commit” to empathizing and checking out each other’s well-being.
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