Meghan Markle Vogue cover fallout with editor Edward Enninful

In September 2022, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex returned to the UK and Europe for a series of events just months after attending the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.

Their visit was dubbed a mini royal-tour at the time, with events scheduled in Manchester, Dusseldorf and London.

But their carefully planned itinerary was soon thrown out when Elizabeth II died on September 8, the royal couple extending their stay in England to attend two weeks of mourning-related events.

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That same month, the duchess was hoping to appear on the cover of the coveted fashion bible British Vogue after months of negotiations between her team and the magazine, however it never happened due to an alleged fall-out.

She had previously enjoyed a close friendship with its then-editor Edward Enninful and in 2019, Meghan guest edited the what became Vogue’s fastest-selling issue, the all-important September issue titled Forces of Change.

At the time, Meghan turned down the chance to appear on that cover fearing it would be “boastful”, instead it featured 15 other women she admired.

Bizarrely, Queen Elizabeth II was not among them with many puzzled by the duchess’ decision to omit the monarch from such a coveted list of high-achieving females.

Enninful later described the Forces for Change idea by the duchess “as not simply a moment, but a movement”, and praised Meghan as a “brilliant, bi-racial, American powerhouse”.

In September 2022, Enninful was planning on doing a multi-page feature on Prince Harry and Meghan focusing on their charity work and coinciding with the duchess’ keynote speech at the One Young World conference in Manchester, which was her first on UK soil since leaving the royal family.

Meghan had high hopes to be on the cover, instead of just appearing inside the magazine.

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Negotiations between Meghan’s team and Vogue had been ongoing for months prior until the feature was scrapped suddenly.

A source from the publishing company revealed earlier this week: “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.

“He already had a magazine cover in the bag for that month.”

The supermodel Linda Evangelista was the magazine’s chosen cover star, due to her highly-awaited comeback.

Because the duchess was denied the cover, she reportedly pulled out of co-operating with the magazine altogether and relations with her and Enninful never recovered.

“The whole process became very difficult,” the source from Condé Nast (the company that owns Vogue) said.

“Edward could only promise her a big showy feature inside the magazine and online – but she turned it down.”

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Former Glamour magazine editor Jo Elvin has now weighed into the matter, saying the duchess’ “personal brand” had taken a dive which could have affected Enninful’s decision.

“She’d have been all too aware that being in the pages of Vogue would have raised the question of why she was not on the cover,” Elvin wrote in The Times.

“There would have been global discussions about why she was deemed less cover-worthy than the woman who did front that issue.”

She added: “Frankly, it may also have dawned on Enninful that Meghan’s personal brand at that time – post-Megxit, post-Oprah interview – had taken a Marmitey turn. Friendship be damned when there are magazines to shift. Meghan simply wasn’t the slam-dunk draw she was in 2019.”

In August 2022, author Tom Bower claimed that tensions between the duchess and Enninful had actually begun during Meghan’s first collaboration with the Vogue team, in 2019.

“Meghan wanted to feature on the cover, just as Kate had done in 2016 to mark Vogue‘s centenary,” Bower wrote in his book Revenge.

“In public, Enninful would say that it was Meghan’s decision not to appear on the cover because she wished to remain ‘humble’. The staff recall the decision being forced on her.”

World-shaking secret Harry, Meghan were keeping in this pic

In March, 2024, Enninful announced he was leaving Vogue.

He was a guest at the King’s coronation the year before and is a global ambassador for the monarch’s charity, The King’s Trust.

In 2016, the then-Duchess of Cambridge appeared on the cover of Vogue to celebrate its 100th anniversary.

Diana, Princess of Wales, appeared on the Vogue cover three times during her life and Princess Anne was featured on the front in 1971 and twice in 1973.

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