Meghan Markle reveals she suffered a miscarriage with her second child

Meghan Markle has revealed today that she suffered a miscarriage in July in a heartwrenching piece in the New York Times.

The Duchess of Sussex - who is now living in Los Angeles with her husband Prince Harry and 18-month-old son, Archie, after stepping down as senior British royals earlier this year - decided to give a personal account of her traumatic experience in hope of helping others.

"It was a July morning that began as ordinarily as any other day: Make breakfast. Feed the dogs. Take vitamins. Find that missing sock. Pick up the rogue crayon that rolled under the table. Throw my hair in a ponytail before getting my son from his crib," she wrote in the publication.

"After changing his diaper, 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.

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

She wrote of lying in a hospital bed and holding Prince Harry's hand while recalling their trip to South Africa.

"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," she said.

"I recalled a moment last year when Harry and I were finishing up a long tour in South Africa. I was exhausted. I was breastfeeding our infant son, and I was trying to keep a brave face in the very public eye."

The Duchess also wrote of how "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. Yet despite the staggering commonality of this pain, the conversation remains taboo, riddled with (unwarranted) shame, and perpetuating a cycle of solitary mourning."

"Some have bravely shared their stories; they have opened the door, knowing that when one person speaks truth, it gives license for all of us to do the same.

"We have learned that when people ask how any of us are doing, and when they really listen to the answer, with an open heart and mind, the load of grief often becomes lighter — for all of us. In being invited to share our pain, together we take the first steps toward healing."

Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace and Clarence house said they would not comment on the article as it was "a deeply personal matter".