Duchess of Sussex on the struggle of being new mother in the spotlight: 'Not many people have asked if I'm ok'

The Duchess of Sussex has spoken of the "really challenging" time of being a new mother in the spotlight, saying "it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes".

The Duchess, who appears emotional on screen, said pregnancy is a "really vulnerable" time, adding not many people had asked after her wellbeing.

In an on-camera interview for an ITV documentary about the Sussex's tour to Africa, she conceded it had been a "struggle".

Interviewed by Tom Bradby, a friend of Prince Harry, the Duchess spoke after visiting a charity teaching women how to fight back against endemic violence.

"Oh my goodness, it’s the most inspiring," said the Duchess. We just got here and to see everything that they are doing but also that it’s not just the girls that are feeling empowered, it’s all the roles of the men and the young boys who are also helping them."

Speaking in a voiceover of a trailer for the show, Bradby said: "Most of the work was really uplifting for sure but there was another story in this film too …of the true pressures of life in the spotlight and the toll it has taken on them both."

Asked about the impact of pressure her mental and physical health, a clip shows an emotional Duchess replying: "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…

"And especially as a woman, it’s a lot. So you add this on top of just trying to be a new mom or trying to be a newlywed it’s, well…

"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."

Brady asked: "And the answer is, would it be fair to say, not really OK, as in it’s really been a struggle?"

The Duchess replied: "Yes."

Yesterday, a clip of the programme saw Prince Harry tell how flashbulbs of cameras take him “straight back” to the death of his mother, as he spoke of the trauma of his childhood as a “wound that festers”.

The Duke said he suffers constant flashbacks to the “bad stuff” as a result of his public role in the Royal Family, saying being in front of the cameras forces him to endure the “worst reminders” of her life.

Speaking of his ongoing challenges in processing the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997, he said retracing her steps in Angola as part of his charity work on land mines had been “incredibly emotional”.

The Duke spoke as part of an ITV documentary about his tour of southern Africa, in which the Duchess will also reveal “the difficulties of living life in the spotlight”.

In an interview with Tom Bradby, a friend of the couple, he was asked whether he felt “at peace” now he had the chance to return to the streets his mother once walked.

“Or is it still a sort of wound that festers?” asked Bradby, during the tour.

The Duke said: “I think probably 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.

“Being here now 22 years later trying to finish what she started will be incredibly emotional but everything that I do reminds me of her.

“But as I said with the role, with the job, and the sort of pressures that come with that I get reminded of the bad stuff, unfortunately.”

Speaking on the voiceover of a newly-released trailer, Bradby added: “His great fear now is that his wife is subject to the same pressures as his mother was.

"Later in the programme I was to speak to Meghan too about the difficulties of living life in the spotlight.”

The Duke and Duchess are expected to use the one-hour programme to lay bare the “world of pressure and pain behind the brave faces”.

The Duke and Duchess, who have both given interviews to Bradby as part of an ITV programme about their ­recent tour in Africa, will speak on camera about the “challenge and ­pressure of balancing their public ­duties and family life”.

Bradby, a friend of the Duke who has previously met the Duchess to discuss “press attention”, said his film with the couple in Africa would “explain a lot”.

Another clip, which featured behind-the-scenes footage of Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, was broadcast earlier this week.

The documentary comes after an extraordinary statement from the Duke about the tabloid press and his family, in which he spoke furiously of “relentless propaganda” against his wife.

It was also announced that the Duchess was to sue the Mail on Sunday over the publication of extracts of a letter she wrote to her father and the Duke ­announced he was suing the owners of The Sun and Daily Mirror over ­allegations of phone hacking.

Harry & Meghan: An African Journey is on ITV at 9pm on Sunday.