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Motherhood Is A ‘Struggle’ Under Spotlight, Says Meghan Markle

Meghan Markle has admitted becoming a mother while living under an intense media spotlight has been a "struggle".


(FILES) In this file photo taken on April 25, 2018 US fiancée of Britain’s Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, talks with Britain’s Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (L) as she arrives to attend a service of commemoration and thanksgiving to mark Anzac Day in Westminster Abbey in London. Thomas Markle, who has rocked Britain’s royal family with a “will he, won’t he” drama over his attendance at daughter Meghan’s wedding to Prince Harry, is a shy recluse, thrust into the limelight against his wishes. The 73-year-old initially said he was too unwell and embarrassed to walk his daughter down the aisle on Saturday, according to US celebrity news site TMZ, after allegedly staging photos of himself for money and suffering a heart attack amid the ensuing furor. Adrian DENNIS / AFP
In this file photo taken on April 25, 2018 US fiancée of Britain’s Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, talks with Britain’s Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (L) as she arrives to attend a service of commemoration and thanksgiving to mark Anzac Day in Westminster Abbey in London. 
Adrian DENNIS / AFP

 

Meghan Markle has admitted becoming a mother while living under an intense media spotlight has been a “struggle”.

The Duchess of Sussex gave birth to son Archie in May after marrying Prince Harry last year.

Britain’s aggressive press at first welcomed Markle, 38, into the royal fold but coverage has become increasingly hostile, with the tabloids luxuriating in stories about Markle’s fractured American family and rumours of palace rifts.

Speaking to ITV during the couple’s recent tour of southern Africa, she said that: “Not many people have asked if I’m OK”.

“Look, any woman – especially when they are pregnant – you’re really vulnerable and so that was made really challenging, and then when you have a new born – you know?” she said, when asked how she was coping.

“And especially as a woman, it’s a lot.

She added: “And also, thank you for asking, because not many people have asked if I’m OK. But it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.”

Asked if it would be fair to say it had “really been a struggle”, Meghan said: “Yes.”

Her comments come after the couple launched legal action this month against British tabloid the Mail on Sunday for invasion of privacy, with Harry recalling the hounding of his later mother Diana.

Harry told ITV the memories of what happened to his mother was a “wound that festers”.

“I think being part of this family, in this role, in this job… every single time I see a camera, every single time I hear a click, every single time I see a flash, it takes me straight back, so in that respect it’s the worst reminder of her life, as opposed to the best,” he said.

The Duke of Sussex is also suing two British tabloid newspaper publishers over alleged phone hacking.