‘Everyone knew’: Zara Tindall’s candid TV chat on devastating miscarriages

The Queen’s granddaughter Zara has given a deeply personal and candid TV interview on her devastation after suffering two miscarriages with her husband Mike Tindall.

The 37-year-old royal, who now has Mia, four, and Lena, two months, with Mike, first revealed she suffered a miscarriage in November 2016, weeks after the pregnancy was initially announced. She then tragically suffered a second miscarriage before becoming pregnant with Lena.

Now, speaking for the first time on TV about their losses, Zara told BBC Breakfast: “I think that’s the hardest thing in our situation, is that everyone knew.

“And very much when things like that happen, normally it’s just your family and friends, but unfortunately everyone knew about it. Actually I had so many letters saying ‘I’m so sorry, we’ve been through the same thing’, which was incredible – and thank you to all those people.

"At the end of the day they've still lost a child too"
Zara Tindall reflects the impact her miscarriages had on her husband#miscarriage #royals #royal pic.twitter.com/RZu8Xqtxia

— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) September 7, 2018

“But it just showed how often it does happen and I have a very supportive family, Mike’s incredible.”

That prompted Zara to acknowledge how difficult a miscarriage is on men too, as they’ve suffered just as much of a loss as their partner.

“It’s very different for us [women] because we’re carrying the child, but for guys I guess it’s kind of that helpless feeling, which must be incredibly high and horrible for them. At the end of the day they’ve still lost a child too,” she added.

Zara went on: “Being helpless is horrible isn’t it, for anyone. So you know, he’s… it’s been a horrible road but, you know, actually now we’ve come out the end of it, hopefully it makes you a stronger family.”

She gave the moving interview to celebrate the fact she’s riding horses again, three months after the birth of her second child Lena.

It comes just months after Zara opened up about her heartache and loss in a rare display of candour for the royals in an interview with The Times’ magazine Relative Values in July.

Read more: Zara Tindall reveals heartache over second miscarriage

As is tradition for descendants of the Queen, Zara had first announced she was pregnant in November 2016, but just one month later revealed she had miscarried.

She told The Times one of the most difficult parts of dealing with their first miscarriage was having to do so in the public eye.

“We had to tell everyone and it’s like, everyone knows – that’s the hardest bit,” she said at the time. “That’s why I think a lot of people don’t talk about it because [a miscarriage] can happen early enough or it’s only your group of friends and your family that know.”

Have you suffered the loss of a child? Do you have a message for Zara?