In her editor’s letter, Markle expressed how special it felt to be guest-editing the issue while pregnant with Archie.
Meghan Markle has opened up about the special time she spent editing British Vogue, while she was pregnant with firstborn, Archie.
Prior to giving birth to the little boy in May, Markle, 37, had secretly been working on the September issue of the magazine which is available for digital download and on newsstands this Friday.
In an editor’s letter written before she and Prince Harry welcome Archie, Markle expressed how special it felt to be working on the issue during such a significant period of her life.
“I was about five months pregnant when this process began, and by the time you hold this issue in your hands, my husband and I will be holding our three-month-old baby boy in ours,” she wrote. “It’s a very special time for me personally, on so many levels; working with Edward and his team, both during my pregnancy and my maternity leave, has played no small part in that joy – it has been a privilege to be welcomed and supported by this amazing team.”
Markle also detailed her journey to the gig, starting with a “promising pow wow” with editor, Edward Enninful, in January, during which the two drank mint tea while discussing “how one can shine light in a world filled with seemingly daily darkness.”
She later texted Enninful asking if he would consider letting her edit an issue of British Vogue instead of featuring on the cover of the magazine, and described the three dots that indicate someone is writing their response to an iMessage as inspiring, “the greatest practice of patience in this digital era.”
However, her patience was rewarded with Enninful replying, “Yes! I would love for you to be my guest editor.”
Following meetings saw Markle getting a “crash course in editorial lingo,” as the two devised an editorial plan, with the hope of creating “an issue of both substance and levity.”
“More than anything, this issue is about the power of the collective,” Markle wrote. “In identifying our personal strengths, it is anchored in the knowledge that we are even stronger together. You will find that spirit of inclusivity on the cover: diverse portraiture of women of varying age, colour, creed, nationality and life experience, and of unquestionable inspiration.”
“Some, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and enlisted personally for this issue, others I’ve admired from afar for their commitment to a cause, their fearlessness in breaking barriers, or what they represent simply by being,” she continued about the women featured in the issue, which include former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, actress Jane Fonda, refugee and model Adut Akech and New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern. “These are our forces for change. And among all of these strong women on the cover, a mirror – a space for you, the reader, to see yourself. Because you, too, are part of this collective.”
See more on Markle and the issue below.
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