In an opinion piece titled, The Losses We Share, Meghan Markle opens up about a miscarriage she experienced this past July. Markle has received mixed reviews online with some criticizing the Duchess of Sussex for opening up about such a private matter. However, others, including some A-list celebrities are praising the Royal for shedding light on a subject some consider to taboo to talk about. In the very personal essay published by the New York Times, the Duchess of Sussex describes the pain, “Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few.”
The Duchess of Sussex, 39, however, is not the first Royal to open up about losing a pregnancy. Here is the story of 6 other Royals who have publicly opened up about pregnancy loss.
1. Zara Tindall
Zara Tindall, daughter of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips and eldest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II went public with not one, but two miscarriages she experienced in 2016. The Olympic medal-winning equestrian was expecting a child with husband, ex-England rugby captain Mike Tindall when the two lost the pregnancy just one month after announcing it to the public. The Royal family member explained in an interview that she had to carry the pregnancy full term, “because it was so far along.” And shortly after had another miscarriage, “really early on.” Tindall also went on to explain that for some time, “you don’t talk about it because it’s too raw”. Today, Zara and Mike Tindall have two daughters, Mia Grace Tindall, 6 and Lena Tindall, 2.
2. Queen Fabiola of Belgium
Decades after experiencing several tragic miscarriages, Queen Fabiola of Belgium publicly spoke out for the first time about her loss. In the interview the Queen admitted, “I lost five children, but I’ve learned to live with it” she said. She explained her resilience, “You learn from the experience. I had problems with each pregnancy, but in the end I kept thinking that life is beautiful.” Queen Fabiola had her first miscarriage in 1961 while pregnant with her and husband, King Baudouin of the Belgians’ first child. The Queen would subsequently go on to have 4 more miscarriages. Although the Royal couple was never able to have children they took pride in acting as “parental figures for all of the children of Belgium.”
3. Sophie Countess of Wessex
Sophie, Countess of Wessex is wife to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh’s youngest son, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex. While speaking to reporters outside of the hospital in 2001, Prince Edward revealed that Sophie had miscarried saying, “It’s obviously a very traumatic time and my wife has … It’s quite the most painful thing that anyone can undergo.” He revealed that Sophie Wessex was undergoing life-saving surgery in relation to the pregnancy as he addressed reporters. The Royal couple went on to have two children, Louise Windsor, 17 and James, Viscount Severn, 13.
4. Queen Sonja of Norway
Sonja is the Queen consort of Norway and wife of King Harald V. In a 2016 TV documentary on her life, the Queen revealed that she lost her first pregnancy which left her feeling, “utterly alone.” The King and Queen had been married for about two years and had revealed news of the pregnancy just one month prior. One day, Queen Sonja had been woken up by cramps and bleeding, she was then transported via stretcher to the Fredrikstad Central Hospital where she lost the child. The Queen and King were able to have two children after that, Princess Märtha Louise, 44, and, Crown Prince Haakon, 42.
5. Queen Noor of Jordan
Noor Al-Husseinis the Queen of Jordan and fourth wife of King Hussein. The Queen spoke publicly addressed her miscarriage in 1970’s in a memoir titled, Leap of Faith. She explained the lack of support she felt from her then husband, King Hussein writing, “His response to any personal concern I expressed would be to counter with some greater problem that he was suffering from, in order to put my problem in perspective,” she wrote. She then added, “This man, who had the biggest heart in the world, could not talk about things that were personally painful to him precisely because he felt that pain so deeply. He simply could not handle it.”
6. Tessy Antony
Tessy Antony de Nassau, is known as the former Princess, Tessy of Luxembourg. The former member of the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg is the ex-wife of Prince Louis of Luxembourg, the son of Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. In 2018, the former Princess revealed she had suffered a miscarriage, this would have been the third child for he rand Prince Louis of Luxembourg. In a very personal Instagram post, Tessy wrote, “For me, of course my divorce was definitely one of the most difficult situations I have ever faced. I experienced the same feelings and emotions when I miscarried my third child.” Tessy went on to explain that the love of her two other boys helped cope with the grief writing, “I always sourced strength from my two healthy and happy boys who mean the world to me.”