This is the March cover of British Vogue, Edward Enninful’s last issue as editor-in-chief. Enninful managed to put together forty “legends” together for the cover. This is not CGI or AI, these are actual women who all showed up at the same place and time for a cover shoot. The cover includes: Simone Ashley, Oprah, Selma Blair, Naomi Campbell, Adwoa Aboah, Iman, Jameela Jamil, Karlie Kloss, Kaia Gerber, Salma Hayek, Cara Delevingne, Jane Fonda, Karen Elson, Gigi Hadid, Dua Lipa, Amber Valletta, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Kate Moss, Irian Shayk, Anya Taylor Joy, Ariana DeBose, Gemma Chan, Jourdan Dunn, Serena Williams, Anok Yai, Jodie Comer, Cindy Crawford, Laverne Cox, Christy Turlington, Cynthia Erivo, Linda Evangelista and many more. So, obviously, the story is “why didn’t Edward Enninful include the Duchess of Sussex?” I sh-t you not.
Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss and Gigi Hadid were among 40 British Vogue stars that came together to shoot the cover for Edward Enninful’s final edition. But for royals fans, Meghan Markle, 42, was noticeably absent from the impressive line-up – which also included Salma Hayek, Naomi Campbell and Miley Cyrus.
The Duchess of Sussex was once close friends with the outgoing editor-in-chief after guest editing an issue of British Vogue in 2019. But she was nowhere to be found on Mr Enninful’s final cover, which featured Meghan’s pals Oprah Winfrey, Serena Williams, and Jameela Jamil. Eagle-eyed royal fans questioned the Duchess’ lack of appearance, with one writing: ‘Now why did Meghan Markle deny us a Vogue cover because I know that guy called her.’
Another person asked Endgame author Omid Scobie on X, formerly Twitter, ‘was your bestie #MeghanMarkIe busy that day?’ after he shared the cover.
It’s unclear if the Duchess of Sussex was contacted to appear on the magazine cover.
Meghan’s ‘Forces for Change’ issue in September 2019 put inspirational women including actresses Gemma Chan and Jane Fonda, and former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern on the front cover. When it was published, it was the fastest selling issue in the magazine’s 104-year history, selling out in less than 10 days.
The following year, Mr Enninful spoke to Sky News about criticism Meghan received when she joined the royal family, arguing that he didn’t believe it was solely down to racism. Describing the Duchess as a ‘brave woman’, he said: ‘Parts of it were probably racism, but it was more of an institution.’ He added that while criticism was ‘harsh’, he ‘wouldn’t just blame it on racism’, saying: ‘She walked into an institution and everyone expected her to know the rules. And I think sometimes it takes a minute to understand the rules.’
However, Mr Enniful, who has previously praised King Charles as a monarch who can ‘evolve with the times’ and is an ambassador for The Prince’s Trust, continued to say he believed the treatment of her was ‘very unfair’.
As Enninful writes in his letter from the editor, the photoshoot took place in New York in December. It would not surprise me if he asked Meghan and she said no, just as it would not surprise me that several other high-profile women said no or had some kind of scheduling conflict. It’s wild to assume that Meghan would be willing to fly to New York just for Enninful’s last cover as EIC, especially since many have wondered if they had a falling out in the years since she guest-edited the magazine. Enninful was never really loyal to her, and he made sure to supplicate to the left-behind royals.
The larger question – one which we’ll probably never get an answer to – is how many magazine covers has Meghan turned down over the past four years? I’d be willing to bet she’s been offered Vanity Fair, American Vogue, Elle, Allure, Forbes, everything.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid. Covers courtesy of British Vogue.