Meghan Markle and Prince Harry recently welcomed their new royal baby Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor into the Royal Family. However, unbeknown to the rest of the world until recently, while the Duchess of Sussex was pregnant she was working on guest-editing the September issue of Vogue magazine. The issue of Vogue does not include the Duchess of Sussex on the cover, and instead places a mirror in the middle of the page, to reflect the reader alongside a host of influential women including Gemma Chan and Francesca Hayward.

Although Michelle Obama does not feature on the cover, the former First Lady played an important role in shaping one of the “emotional” features in the important issue.

Helen Rumbelow, writing in The Times’ Times2 magazine this week, spoke to Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief Edward Enninful about the Duchess of Sussex’s process. 

Ms Rumbelow writes: “Meghan called Jacinda Ardern and set up an email dialogue with Michelle Obama that became so substantial that it became an emotional feature about motherhood – advice from one black woman who has done it in a traditionally white seat of power to another.”

Mr Enninful said: “It was so deep.

“I remember the Duchess calling me, saying, ‘I can’t believe what I’ve just received here.’”

The Duchess of Sussex met Ms Ardern, New Zealand’s Prime Minister, when she visited the country last year with Prince Harry. 

Ms Arden features on the front cover of the issue, alongside celebrated novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who hosted a talk with Michelle Obama attended by Meghan in December.

The Duke and Duchess’ Instagram post which announced the cover said: “The Duchess chose a diverse selection of women from all walks of life, each driving impact and raising the bar for equality, kindness, justice and open-mindedness. 

READ MORE: Did Meghan take subtle swipe at Kate and Diana with Vogue cover?

“The sixteenth space on the cover, a mirror, was included so that when you hold the issue in your hands, you see yourself as part of the collective.”

However, Piers Morgan, writing in the Daily Mail, has blasted the Duchess’ efforts, calling the issue “elitist” and “publicity-seeking”.

Despite his claims, Ms Rumbelow may have pointed out a key detail that Mr Morgan missed. 

She notes: “The critical forces arrayed against Meghan – Piers Morgan et al. – have, by focussing on the cover, been missing what I think is probably the item in the magazine that is most revealing of character. 

DON’T MISS: 
Prince Harry’s heartbreaking Meghan Markle dilemma revealed: ‘One disaster to another’
How Harry is REAL reason behind privacy policy – not Meghan
Meghan Markle privacy row: How dilemma has caused Royal Family heartache for decades

“It was her idea to include a poem she loved, by Matt Haig.

“It is called A Note from the Beach.

“[Vogue Editor Edward] Enninful said she wanted wanted it as a moment of ‘serenity’ in an issue heavy with passion. 

“In it, Haig imagines the beach advising the humans on it to ignore critical voices.

“In it, Haig imagines the beach advising the humans on it to ignore critical voices.

“‘Why don’t you do as I do?’ says the beach. ‘Let it wash all over you.’”

Matt Haig is a British novelist and the poem comes from his 2018 book “Notes on a Nervous Planet”.

Speaking about the Vogue project, Meghan said: “These last seven months have been a rewarding process, curating and collaborating with Edward Enninful, British Vogue’s editor-in-chief, to take the year’s most-read fashion issue and steer its focus to the values, causes and people making impact in the world today.

“Through this lens, I hope you’ll feel the strength of the collective in the diverse selection of women chosen for the cover as well as the team of support I called upon within the issue to help bring this to light.

“I hope readers feel as inspired as I do, by the forces for change they’ll find within these pages.”

Source: Read Full Article