Buckingham Palace has said it won't officially comment on Meghan Markle's announcement that she suffered a miscarriage, but a source has said there is "sadness" within the royal family.
The Duchess of Sussex shared a heartbreaking account of losing her baby, saying she and Prince Harry found the grief "almost unbearable".
In an emotional piece for the New York Times, she wrote: "I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second."
The Palace has said the news is "a deeply personal matter which we would not comment on".
However a source within the palace has said there is "understandable sadness in the royal family".
Vanity Fair's royal editor and author Katie Nicholl told BBC 5 Live: "I understand they've been very supportive of it. They were aware of what had happened, Harry was in constant touch with them over the summer.
They knew what they were going through.
"The royals are very much of the mantra never complain, never explain. We don't hear them opening up their hearts.
"But if ever I knew a royal that does, and wears his hear on his sleeve, it's Harry.
"Meghan is clearly cut from the same cloth. They're doing this for the same reason.
"My understanding is that they've been supported by the royal family throughout this episode."
In Meghan's piece, she describes the moment she felt a "sharp cramp" and knew something was wrong.
She writes: "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.
"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."
She also details the heartbreaking hours that followed, when her and Harry sat in hospital trying to come to terms with what was happening.
"Hours later, I lay in a hospital bed, holding my husband’s hand. 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."
Meghan used the piece to ask everyone to check on each other, and in a bid to encourage people to talk about miscarriage.
Harry's cousin, Zara Tindall, has suffered two miscarriages and has spoken out about them in the past.
She lost a baby in the days before Christmas 2016, about four months into her pregnancy.
In July 2018, she suffered a second miscarriage 'really early on' before becoming pregnant with daughter Lena.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast in 2018, she said her family had been incredibly supportive.
She said: “It was a time when my family came to the fore and I needed them.
“I had to go through having the baby because it was so far along.”
She also said one of the things she found the most upsetting was having to tell people.
“For me the worst thing was that we had to tell everyone – everyone we knew.”
For support, advice or information about miscarriage, visit the charity Tommy's website at https://www.tommys.org/ or call 0800 0147800.
