As Meghan Markle speaks about her miscarriage, British royals who have publicly spoken about pregnancy loss

On the April 15 episode of her ‘Confessions of a Female Founder' podcast, Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex was joined by guest Reshma Saujani. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Reshma Saujani she is an American lawyer and politician who is the founder of the nonprofit organisation, ‘Girls Who Code.’

According to the Girls Who Code website,”In 2010, Reshma Saujani “surged onto the political scene as the first Indian American woman to run for U.S. Congress. During the race, Reshma visited local schools and saw the gender gap in computing classes firsthand, which led her to start Girls Who Code.

“Reshma is also the author of Brave, Not Perfect–a movement rooted in her experience, TedTalk, book, and podcast encouraging women to live their bravest, fullest lives.”

On the Confessions of a Female Founder podcast episode with Reshma Saujani, Meghan Markle said: “I'll bring this up if you're comfortable talking about it because I know you've spoken publicly about as you're doing Girls Who Code, all the interpersonal things that are happening for you at that time and the miscarriages that you've experienced.”

Meghan Markle then reflected on her 2020 miscarriage and said: “I've spoken about the miscarriage that we experienced,” and went on to say that“I think in some parallel way, when you have to learn to detach from the thing that you have so much promise and hope for and to be able to be okay at a certain point to let something go, something go that you plan to love for a long time.”

Meghan Markle had written about her miscarriage in a first-person essay for The New York Times and wrote: “I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second,” and also wrote: "Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few."

Which other British royals have spoken about having miscarriages?

Zara Tindall

Prince William and Prince Harry’s first cousin Zara Tindall suffered from two miscarriages. She told The Sunday Times that "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.”

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, had an ectopic pregnancy and needed to have emergency surgery after being rushed to hospital. Prince Edward said at the time that "It's obviously a very traumatic time and my wife has ... It's quite the most painful thing that anyone can undergo. It's a pretty traumatic experience. As the pain reduces, so the relief will increase."

Sophie also said at the time that "I'm obviously very sad - but it was just not meant to be," she said. "But there will be other chances." She also revealed that "The nurses have been unbelievably fantastic."