Meghan Markle reveals miscarriage of second baby in heartbreaking opinion piece

Meghan Markle has revealed she had a miscarriage in July.

The Duchess of Sussex, 39, detailed her loss in an opinion piece for the New York Times titled 'The Losses We Share'.

"I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second," she wrote.

The mum reveals the morning of her loss started like any other - making breakfast and feeding the couple's dogs.

Then, as she changed 14-month-old Archie's nappy, the Duchess says: "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."

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Markle paints a vivid picture of the moments that followed in the hospital, dealing with her grief while holding Prince Harry'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."

In the piece, the 39-year-old touches on the "taboo" of talking about miscarriage and her decision to speak out.

"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."

It's not known how many months along the Duchess was when she experienced her pregnancy loss.

Recently, Markle filed for a delay to her UK trial date scheduled for January, in her case against the publishers of Mail on Sunday over publishing excerpts from a letter written to her estranged father.

The application cited "private and confidential" reasons but it's not known if this was related to the miscarriage.

The Duchess gave birth to her first child on May 6, 2019 when the couple still lived in UK, giving birth at London's Portland Hospital.

They chose to forego the traditional photo on the steps of the hospital with their newborn, instead debuting him to the world from Windsor Castle two days after his arrival.

In January this year the couple resigned from their roles as senior members of the British Royal Family and wrapped up their duties in March, before moving to LA.

The couple released a video of Archie to mark his first birthday in May, via Save The Children and No Kid Hungry, to raise awareness of their coronavirus fundraising efforts.

If you or someone you know is in need of support following pregnancy loss contact SANDS on 1300 072 637 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.