In season 2 of With Love, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex opens up about a difficult period when she was separated from her children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, for nearly three weeks.

Though she doesn’t mention the event directly, her comments appear to reference the time surrounding Queen Elizabeth’s death in 2022, which unexpectedly extended her stay in the U.K.

Parenting Conversations with Tan France

While speaking with Queer Eye star Tan France in Episode 3, Meghan, 44, shared how motherhood has exceeded her expectations. “It’s better than I ever expected,” she said of raising Archie, now 6, and Lilibet, 4, with Prince Harry. France, who is dad to two boys with husband Rob, admitted he struggles with the thought of being apart from his children, joking, “They’re not allowed to get married. Not allowed to leave my house.”

Meghan agreed, reflecting, “I’ll miss them so much. You want to be the parent who’s like yes, go do it… but I’m going to miss you so much.”

France confessed, “I might die without my kids. I need my boys. If I don’t see them for a couple of days, I feel like my heart is broken.” In response, Meghan revealed just how hard time apart has been for her as a mother.

“Oh I know. The longest I went without being around our kids was almost three weeks,” she said. “I was… not well.”

The 2022 U.K. Trip

In September 2022, Meghan and Prince Harry traveled to London for a series of charity events when Queen Elizabeth died at age 96. The couple, who had already been away from their young children while visiting Manchester and Germany, ended up remaining abroad for 17 days as funeral arrangements unfolded.

Harry later recalled the experience in his memoir Spare: “Our quick trip would now be an odyssey. Another ten days, at least. Difficult days at that.

More, we’d have to be away from the children for longer than we’d planned, longer than we’d ever been.” He noted that once he and Meghan returned to California the day after the state funeral, they “couldn’t let [the kids] out of their sight.”

Life Today in California

Now raising Archie and Lilibet in Montecito, Meghan and Harry continue to keep family life private. The Duchess recently told PEOPLE that having older children has allowed her to reconnect with her personal passions, which she shares in her Netflix series.

“When your children get to a certain age — when you’re not just playing in the sandbox with them but almost playing in your own sandbox again — it’s super joyful,” she explained. “As a woman, a mom and a wife, to be able to find yourself again… is a wonderful feeling.”