It’s Baby Loss Awareness Week 2024 from 9 to 15 October, and to mark the poignant campaign, we look back at the times members of the royal family have opened up and their own baby loss.
Meghan Markle was the latest royal to speak out about the loss of her second baby with Prince Harry, but she’s not alone. Other members of the royal family have also bravely spoken up to share their own experiences with miscarriage and pregnancy loss.
It’s thanks to these women, along with celebrities such as Amanda Holden and Chrissy Teigen who have also discussed their devastating miscarriages, that it’s becoming less of a taboo, giving those who have suffered the confidence to reach out for help. It also helps those who have been through similar trauma feel less alone.
Here’s everything the royals have said about their own miscarriages.
Meghan Markle
It was in an open letter for the New York Times titled, ‘The Losses We Share’, that the Duchess of Sussex revealed the heartbreaking loss of her second baby with Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, in July 2020. She detailed the moment she realised it was happening.
“I felt a sharp cramp. I dropped to the floor with Archie 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.”
She added: “Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few.” Meghan and Harry went on to have their daughter, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor on 4 June 2021.
Zara Tindall
Zara Tindall, the Queen’s eldest granddaughter, was the first royal to publicly speak out about a miscarriage. The sad news came a month after she had announced her second pregnancy in November 2016, three years after giving birth to Mia, her first daughter with husband Mike Tindall.
A spokeswoman for the couple said at the time: “Very sadly, Zara and Mike Tindall have lost their baby. At this difficult time, we ask that everyone respects their privacy.”
In a later interview with the Sunday Times, Zara explained that it felt “too raw” for her to discuss the experience at the time.
She added: “For me, the worst bit was that we had to tell everyone – everyone knew. I had to go through having the baby because it was so far along. I then had another miscarriage really early on.”
Speaking of the support from her family, she said: “It was a time when my family came to the fore and I needed them. You need to go through a period where you don’t talk about it because it’s too raw, but, as with everything, time’s a great healer.”
Zara and Mike Tindall then welcomed their second daughter, Lena Elizabeth Tindall, on 18 June 2018. They are also parents to three-year-old son, Lucas.
© James Whatling/Kelvin BruceDuchess Sophie
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh has also suffered baby loss, in the form of an ectopic pregnancy. Her husband, Prince Edward, spoke out about the traumatic experience, which involved his wife receiving life-saving surgery.
Speaking to reporters outside of the hospital where it happened in 2001, Prince Edward said: “It’s obviously a very traumatic time and my wife has… It’s quite the most painful thing anyone can undergo.
© Getty“It’s a pretty traumatic experience. As the pain reduces, so the relief will increase. I want to add my thanks to all the medical team who have done a fantastic job and reacted so quickly and have handled things so professionally.”
Sophie Wessex and Prince Edward went on to welcome their daughter Lady Louise Windsor in 2003, and their son James, Viscount Severn in 2007.
If you’ve experienced a miscarriage or baby loss and are seeking help, visit tommys.org/baby-loss-support for more information.
You can also reach out to Sands, an organisation committed to raising awareness and helping those who have suffered loss. Visit www.sands.org.uk/blaw.
Read the full article here
