'I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second,' she writes.
Meghan Markle is opening up about a tragic experience she went through this summer. In an op-ed for The New York Times, the 39-year-old Duchess of Sussex reveals that she suffered a miscarriage back in July. Meghan and her husband, Prince Harry, are already parents to their 1-year-old son, Archie.
"It was a July 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," she begins. "After changing his diaper, 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. I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second."
"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," Meghan continues. "Staring at the cold white walls, my eyes glazed over. I tried to imagine how we’d heal."
While in the hospital, Meghan writes that she watched Harry's "heart break as he tried to hold the shattered pieces of mine."
ET has learned that Harry did discuss the miscarriage with the royal family. However, a Buckingham Palace source tells ET that the subject is "a deeply personal matter" that the family will not be commenting on.
Meanwhile, sources tell Vanity Fair that Harry and Meghan said that the experience has brought them even closer as a couple, adding that Harry was fully supportive of Meghan writing the article. ET's source notes that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex knew at the time of their loss that this was something they wanted to eventually share.
Meghan also writes in her op-ed that amid their own loss, her and Harry learned how common miscarriages are, which prompted her to speak out in an effort to encourage others to do the same.
"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," she writes. "Yet despite the staggering commonality of this pain, the conversation remains taboo, riddled with (unwarranted) shame, and perpetuating a cycle of solitary mourning."
"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," Meghan continues. "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."
For more on Meghan and Harry's bond, watch the video below.
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