Prince William and Charles both supported Harry and Meghan after they suffered a miscarriage in July, it’s understood.
The Duchess of Sussex revealed today that she lost her second child over the summer, writing of her “almost unbearable grief” in an op-ed for the New York Times.
She, Harry and Archie were living in Los Angeles at the time Meghan, 39, was hospitalised, hours after feeling a “sharp cramp” and realising she was miscarrying.
The couple, who formally left the Royal Family back in March, reportedly notified the Queen and other senior Royals shortly afterwards.
“There is understandable sadness in the family,” a source close to the Queen told media.
It’s understood Harry, 36, was supported by older brother William and father Prince Charles in the days after the tragic incident.
Any supportive conversations would have had to have taken place over phone or video call due to the distance between the family members, as travel is still largely impossible due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
A source close to the couple has claimed Harry and Meghan took their time to privately come to terms with their grief.
Meghan was changing then 14-month-old Archie’s nappy at their former home in Los Angeles one summer morning when she suddenly 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,” she wrote in a heartbreaking piece called The Losses We Share.
“I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second.”
She added: “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.”
The publication of the New York Times piece has prompted an outpouring of support from other women who have gone through miscarriages.
In the UK, it’s estimated one in four pregnancies ends in miscarriage or stillbirth.
Meghan’s op-ed reveals she tried to keep a “brave face” in public after her loss, but ultimately chose to share her pain publicly to “take the first steps towards healing”.
“Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few,” she wrote.
“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.”