Meghan Markle has opened up about the intense media scrutiny she has faced since joining the Royal family, saying the pressure she felt during her pregnancy and as a new mother had been “really challenging”.

The Duchess of Sussex married Prince Harry at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle in May 2018 and gave birth to the couple’s son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, in May this year.

When asked about the impact the public scrutiny has had on her physical and mental health, the Duchess said that any woman — especially when pregnant — felt “really vulnerable”.

In a snippet of ITV documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, which is set to air on Sunday night (local time), the Duchess said: “Any woman, especially when they’re pregnant, you’re really vulnerable. So that was made really challenging. And then when you have a newborn, you know?”

She added: “You add this on top of just trying to be a new mum or trying to be a newlywed, it’s um… yeah.”

She thanked journalist Tom Bradby for asking if she was OK.

“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,” she said.

The documentary follows Royal couple’s Africa trip

Bradby followed the Royal couple on a recent trip to Africa on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II.

The first day of their 10-day, multi-country tour started in Cape Town with visits to girls’ empowerment projects that teach rights and self-defence.

The Duchess paid tribute to murdered South African women and victims of gender-based violence.

And the Duke and Duchess introduced Master Archie to Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Cape Town.

Soon after the tour wrapped up, it was announced the Duchess was suing the Mail on Sunday newspaper over the publication of a private letter and for what Prince Harry referred to as a ruthless campaign against his wife.

Then a few days later, Buckingham Palace announced Prince Harry was suing the owners of The Sun and the Daily Mirror over alleged phone hacking. The Prince claims his voicemail messages were illegally accessed.

– ABC