Meghan Markle and Prince Harry allegedly took several months to come to terms with the tragic loss of their second child in private before speaking out.
A source close to the couple claims they took their time to process the July miscarriage, which Meghan revealed to the world on Wednesday.
The Duchess of Sussex, 39, 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 New York Times op-ed 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 piece has prompted an outpouring of support from other women who have gone through miscarriages.
A source close to Meghan told The Sun she is currently in “good health”, four months after the traumatising experience.
The source also claims she and husband Harry decided to take time to process their feelings about it. They chose to finally speak about it publicly after realising how common pregnancy loss is.
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, referring to a 2019 interview with ITV journalist Tom Bradby in which she said “not many people have asked if I’m okay”.
The comment, which went viral, was made before her second pregnancy and referred to her exhaustion at being a new mum to Archie.
She writes: “I answered him honestly, not knowing that what I said would resonate with so many — new moms and older ones, and anyone who had, in their own way, been silently suffering.
“My off-the-cuff reply seemed to give people permission to speak their truth. But it wasn’t responding honestly that helped me most, it was the question itself.”
Meghan said she has chosen 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.”
She added: “Some have bravely shared their stories; they have opened the door, knowing that when one person speaks truth, it gives license for all of us to do the same.
“We have learned that when people ask how any of us are doing, and when they really listen to the answer, with an open heart and mind, the load of grief often becomes lighter — for all of us.
“In being invited to share our pain, together we take the first steps toward healing.”