Prince Harry’s Uncle Charles Spencer Talks About The “Agony” Of Meghan Markle’s Pregnancy Loss

In a new op-ed published by the New York Times, Meghan Markle revealed that she had suffered a pregnancy loss earlier this summer — a personal loss that affected her and Prince Harry’s nuclear unit but also devastated the rest of the royal family. 

Meghan opened up about the difficult experience in her first-person essay titled “The Losses We Share.” On what initially appeared to be a normal day in July — feeding her dogs, taking care of little Archie, being in lockdown — the Duchess experienced a profound loss.

"I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second," wrote Meghan. "Hours later, I lay in a hospital bed, holding my husband’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."

The revelation was heartbreaking for the couple, who have publicly discussed wanting to add another baby to the family. It also came as a shock to their extended family, particularly to Harry's maternal uncle Charles Spencer. Spencer opened up about his nephew's loss during an appearance on British talk show Lorraine, calling the news "so very, very sad."

"It is [terribly sad]," said the 9th Earl Spencer. "I can’t imagine the agony for any couple of losing a child in this way...all thoughts with them today."

So far, Spencer is the only royal to make a public statement, and he will likely remain the only one to do so. Sources close to the Royal Family confirmed to People that Harry and Meghan personally informed them of the loss and that all of the family is privately working through "understandable sadness."

Months after the loss, Meghan is still processing what happened. Going through such a major heartbreak in the middle of a pandemic would be a lot for anyone, but the Duchess of Sussex remains optimistic that things will get better — for her and for the rest of the world.

"We are adjusting to a new normal where faces are concealed by masks, but it’s forcing us to look into one another’s eyes — sometimes filled with warmth, other times with tears," Meghan shared. "For the first time, in a long time, as human beings, we are really seeing one another."

"Are we OK? We will be," she concluded.