Meghan Markle Details ‘Really Challenging’ Transition From New Royal to Mom in First Televised Interview Since Archie’s Birth

Meghan Markle became a member of the royal family in May 2018 when she married Prince Harry, and soon became a first time mom in May when she and Harry welcomed their son, Archie. Markle opened up about the difficult transition in a clip from the couple’s documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, telling Tom Bradby that life in such a bright spotlight has been “a lot.”

“Any woman, especially when they’re pregnant, you’re really vulnerable, and so that was made really challenging. And then when you have a newborn, you know. And especially as a woman, it’s a lot,” she said. “So you add this on top of just trying to be a new mom or trying to be a newlywed. It’s um…yeah. I guess, also thank you for asking because not many people have asked if I’m okay, but it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.”

Bradby asked the Duchess if it “would be fair” to say that she’s “not really okay, as in it’s really been a struggle?,” to which Markle responded, “Yes.”

Harry & Meghan: An African Journey will air in the U.K. on Sunday and feature a behind-the-scenes look at the couple’s recent tour of South Africa.

During the tour, Markle and Harry announced a lawsuit against U.K. tabloid the Mail on Sunday and its parent company, Associated Newspapers, with Harry issuing an emotional statement explaining the decision.

“My wife has become one of the latest victims of a British tabloid press that wages campaigns against individuals with no thought to the consequences – a ruthless campaign that has escalated over the past year, throughout her pregnancy and while raising our newborn son,” he wrote. “There is a human cost to this relentless propaganda, specifically when it is knowingly false and malicious, and though we have continued to put on a brave face – as so many of you can relate to – I cannot begin to describe how painful it has been.”

The royal couple filed suit against the Mail on Sunday after the publication ran a private letter written by Markle to her father, Thomas Markle, and they are also taking legal action against News UK, which owns The Sun, and MGN, former owner of The Mirror, over alleged illegal interception of voicemail messages.

“Though this action may not be the safe one, it is the right one,” Harry’s statement concluded, with the Duke referencing his late mother, Princess Diana. “Because my deepest fear is history repeating itself. I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditized to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.”

Photo Credit: Getty / Max Mumby/Indigo