Meghan Markle’s Vogue Cover Was a Clever Dig at Kate — and a Snub to the Late Queen Elizabeth

During her time as a working royal, Meghan Markle guest-edited Vogue magazine's September 2019 Forces for Change issue, which turned into the fastest-selling edition in 104 years. It featured 15 'trailblazing change-makers’ of Markle's choice on its cover. While Markle was honored to serve as an unpaid editor, royal experts believe the cover was a ‘snub’ to the late Queen Elizabeth and also a subtle jibe at Kate Middleton.

Markle’s guest-edited Vogue cover featured dignitaries like Greta Thunberg, Sinéad Burke, Jane Fonda, Laverne Cox, Jameela Jamil, and Jacinda Ardern. Through the Sussex Instagram handle, Markle's team revealed that she spent seven months creating “an issue of inclusivity and inspiration, focusing on what connects ...rather than what divides.” According to the Daily Mail, the Queen, however, was intentionally left out among the 15 'women she admires,' and neither were nurses, doctors, lawyers, or teachers. Royal expert Ingrid Seward hence slammed Markle’s ‘snub’, saying, “The Duchess of Sussex has done a huge favor for the House of Conde Nast and rather less for the House of Windsor.”

Markle also managed to throw shade at her sister-in-law with the cover, simply by refusing to include herself on it. Royal author Robert Lacey, in his book Battle of Brothers, explained, “Many of the papers had identified Meghan's proclaimed refusal to be 'boastful' by appearing on the front of her issue as a not-so-sly put-down to Kate, whose face had featured on the cover of her own Vogue a few years earlier.” As per the Daily Mail, this hinted that Middleton, who had appeared on the cover once, might have been too self-focused, something Markle, by spotlighting other women, wasn't.

As per the Mail, Markle's former friend and Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful also spilled, “From the very beginning, we talked about the cover... whether she would be on it or not. In the end, she felt that it would be in some ways a 'boastful' thing to do for this particular project.” For the unversed, the Princess of Wales had graced the cover of Vogue in 2016 as part of a National Portrait Gallery Vogue exhibition for its centenary edition. Meanwhile, Markle’s edited September issue was considered the magazine’s most important issue of the year. Enningful added, “To have the country's most influential beacon of change guest edit British Vogue at this time has been an honor, a pleasure, and a wonderful surprise.”

Interestingly, the Duchess of Sussex allegedly cut ties with Enninful after he refused to give her a front cover for a different issue. According to The Sun, Enninful reportedly wanted to showcase Markle’s keynote speech at the One Young World Summit in Manchester, without giving her a front cover. The arrangement made her axe their professional agreement and friendship. As per the outlet, a source dished to Conde Nast, “The Duchess and her team had high expectations and were expecting she might get a print cover or at least a digital cover out of it, but Enninful was not able to meet those expectations.”