Duchess of Sussex: Meghan Markle reveals she lost a child to miscarriage

“I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second,” wrote Meghan Markle in an article published on Wednesday, as she shared her experience of suffering a miscarriage.

The Duchess of Sussex revealed she lost her second child in July, with husband Prince Harry at her side.

Writing in the New York Times, the former actress gave a traumatic personal account of the experience, in the hope her story could help others to cope in similar circumstances.

“Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few,” she wrote, in a piece titled "The Losses We Share".

“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 [a] miscarriage. Yet despite the staggering commonality of this pain, the conversation remains taboo, riddled with (unwarranted) shame, and perpetuating a cycle of solitary mourning.”

The duchess, 39, who with husband Prince Harry has an 18-month-old son, Archie, added: “In being invited to share our pain, together we take the first steps toward healing.”

Early this year, the couple announced they were quitting royal duties and moving to North America.