Is This The Real Reason Meghan Markle Waited So Long To Reveal She Was Pregnant With Lilibet?

In July 2020, Meghan Markle revealed that she had suffered a miscarriage just a year after giving birth to her and Prince Harry's first child, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor (via the BBC). 

At the time of the heartbreaking announcement, the Duchess of Sussex was already pregnant with her second child, daughter Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, who was born on June 4, 2021. According to Newsweek, Markle believed the arrival of Lilibet was a "blessing from God" following the miscarriage that had caused the Duchess "almost unbearable grief."

As noted in the biography "Finding Freedom," which was re-released in paperback on Tuesday, August 31, on the anniversary of Princess Diana's death, a friend of the couple also revealed how Markle and Harry "were careful not to tell anyone" about her pregnancy with Lilibet and it "wasn't until toward the end of the year that they both started to feel more relaxed."

Writing in the bestselling book, co-authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand went on to reveal how the Duchess of Sussex waited until her second trimester before revealing news of her pregnancy. "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," Scobie and Durand wrote. 

As mentioned, Markle first shared news of her miscarriage to the world back in July 2020. In a piece she wrote for The New York Times titled "The Losses We Share," the Duchess detailed how she knew was losing her second child while she "clutched" her firstborn Archie. 

Writing in the heartbreaking article, Markle also described how she watched "my husband's heart break as he tried to hold the shattered pieces of mine," adding that she wanted her own experience to inspire people to "commit to asking others, 'are you OK?'"

Per Harpers Bazaar, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed their second child, daughter Lilibet, in June 2021. "It is with great joy that Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, welcome their daughter, Lilibet "Lili" Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, to the world," a statement released on behalf of the couple read. "Lili was born on Friday, June 4 at11:40 a.m. in the trusted care of the doctors and staff at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, CA," the statement concluded.