Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, reveals she had a miscarriage in July - CNN

In an opinion piece for the New York Times, the Duchess wrote that she "felt a sharp cramp" while changing the diaper of her first child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, whom she had with her husband Prince Harry in 2019.

"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," Meghan wrote.

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

The former actress and member of Britain's royal family described the difficulty of losing her second child and reflected on the hardships of the past year in the deeply personal piece.

"I lay in a hospital bed, holding my husband's hand.

We are at odds over whether an election has been won or lost."

"As much as we may disagree, as physically distanced as we may be, the truth is that we are more connected than ever because of all we have individually and collectively endured this year," she concluded.

Harry and Meghan stepped back from their roles as members of the royal family at the start of this year, moving to North America and frequently challenging intense coverage of their lives by tabloid media.

In July, the couple sued over paparazzi photographs of their toddler son, Archie, and Meghan is also suing the publisher of the UK's Mail on Sunday newspaper over printed excerpts of a letter the Duchess wrote to her father following her marriage to Harry.