Meghan Markle felt her daughter Lilibet was a “blessing from God” after a miscarriage that the Duchess said caused “almost unbearable grief,” according to a biography.
The Duchess of Sussex lost a pregnancy in July last year, just over a year after giving birth to son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.
However, at that point she was secretly already pregnant again with her daughter Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, born on June 4.
The biography, Finding Freedom, describes Meghan and Harry’s happiness at the pregnancy, but also says they initially kept their news a secret. The book, originally published last year, has been re-released in paperback with a new epilogue today, August 31, on the anniversary of Princess Diana’s death.
A friend of the couple told the authors: “She [Meghan] felt it was truly a blessing from God. But this time, they were careful not to tell anyone. It wasn’t until toward the end of the year that they both started to feel more relaxed.”
Co-authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand write: “Their happy news would remain secret until Meghan was well into her second trimester, finally sharing their joy to the world on February 14—poignantly, the same day British newspapers had announced that Diana was pregnant with Prince Harry—alongside a photo they took on the grounds of their Montecito home.”
The book describes how Meghan and Prince Harry were photographed by the paparazzi as they attended a medical appointment about the miscarriage.
Finding Freedom reads: “Paparazzi culture in the United States became a new threat. During a July 11 departure from a medical center in Beverly Hills, the couple was furious to discover that a photographer had been tipped of their presence.
“What should have been a deeply personal moment quickly became the top story on the Daily Mail Online, with a dozen photos of the masked couple getting into a Cadillac SUV.
“The article critiqued their outfits and made comments about their “gas-guzzling” choice of vehicle.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit a local secondary school meeting students and teachers on February 24, 2019 in Asni, Morocco. Meghan was pregnant with their first child, Archie, at the time.
Press reports about the biography’s contents triggered a wave of headlines based on its account of Meghan and Harry’s Oprah Winfrey interview and the aftermath.
British newspapers suggested the book attacked Queen Elizabeth II over her official response to the interview, in which she famously said “some recollections may vary.”
The book states: “The Queen’s ‘recollections may vary’ comment ‘did not go unnoticed’ by the couple, who a close source said were ‘not surprised’ that full ownership was not taken.”
However, Scobie said the comment from his source was aimed at the monarchy as an institution rather than the queen as an individual.
In the book, a source close to the Sussexes is quoted saying: “While emotions are still raw and it is still difficult, it [the interview] will force people to talk in order for the healing to begin. The immediate reaction wasn’t positive.
“It will take time to get past the hurt. There has to be some acknowledgment of understanding about what the Sussexes went through in order for there to be progress.”
And a fried of Meghan’s told the authors: “Months later and little accountability has been taken. How can you move forward without that?”
In her New York Times essay, Meghan wrote: “Sitting in a hospital bed, watching my husband’s heart break as he tried to hold the shattered pieces of mine, I realized that the only way to begin to heal is to first ask, ‘Are you OK?'”
“Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few,” she continued. “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.”
