Meghan Markle Talks Tea, Fashion and Her 'Editor's Eye' in Unseen Video from British Vogue
A previously unseen behind-the-scenes video of Meghan Markle and British Vogue Editor-in-Chief Edward Enninful has just been released.
Last summer, the Duchess of Sussex guest-edited the September issue of British Vogue, with the underlining theme of #ForcesForChange. The magazine featured 15 portraits of influential women, including Laverne Cox, Jane Fonda, Yara Shahidi, Greta Thunberg, and New Zealand Prime Miniser Jacinda Ardern.
Now, five months later, the duo is revealing that Meghan’s guest-edited issue has made history.
“#TBT I’m thrilled to report that newsstand sales of @BritishVogue are up in the second half of 2019, but the real highlight for me is the performance of our September 2019 issue,” Enninful shared on Instagram. “#ForcesForChange, guest edited by The Duchess of Sussex @SussexRoyal, was our fastest-selling issue in the history of #BritishVogue ( sold out in 10 days) and the biggest-selling issue of the past decade. I can’t wait to see what 2020 has in store…”
To celebrate the milestone, Enninful and Meghan also shared a special behind-the-scenes video that was filmed back in August in London.
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A post shared by Edward Enninful, OBE (@edward_enninful) on Feb 13, 2020 at 6:22am PST
The video shows Meghan and Enninful discussing how the September issue came to be when the pair met back in January 2019. Enninful revealed that he walked into Kensington Palace to have tea with Meghan, with the royal hoping he could help with her charity fashion line for Smart Works.
“I was like, ‘Lovely to meet you, Duchess,'” Enninful recalled in the video. “Then you were like, ‘Call me Meghan!'” Which caused the two to laugh.
Meghan and Enninful delved some more into how their Vogue collaboration came to fruition with Meghan politely asking if she could guest edit, to which the editor-in-chief cheerfully agreed, making the duchess the first to ever do so for the September issue in its 103-year history.
“I didn’t know if anyone had ever done it before,” the royal mom said.
“No — in the history of Vogue, you’re the first,” Enninful replied. “You have an editor’s eye, I mean, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
He adds, “You were so thorough from beginning to end.”
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The two then discuss that it was very important to highlight women making change in this world, with the duchess chiming in that anyone who picked up the issue “should be able to see themself in it.”
“And that’s what I feel really proud that we’ve accomplished,” Meghan said, before she picked up some fun celebratory, glitter hats for both her Enninful to wear to commemorate their success.
“Let’s call some people,” Enninful proceeded to say, before picking up his phone and calling the 15 women who ended up on the cover of the coveted September issue, most of whom were starstruck that the Duchess of Sussex was present to speak with them on the phone as well.
Renowned actress Jane Fonda had nothing but compliments for Meghan when it was her turn to be phoned.
“Meghan, I’m so proud of you for using your amazing platform and your strong voice, and I’m so honored to be a part of it with all those other amazing women,” the Oscar-winning actress, 82, said. “Thank you so much for including me.”
The British Vogue September 2019 issue became the fastest-selling issue, Enninful announced on Instagram, with copies of the magazine selling out after only 10 days in the newsstands.
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A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on Jul 29, 2019 at 12:26am PDT
The “Forces for Change” issue ultimately featured 15 trailblazing women, which included actors and models, politicians and authors, and advocates for everything from diversity and mental health to climate change and voting rights.
Meghan shot down the idea that she would grace the cover of the magazine after she and Enninful discussed the possibility of having the royal appear on the front page.
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“From the very beginning, we talked about the cover — whether she would be on it or not,” he said in a statement.
“In the end, she felt that it would be in some ways a ‘boastful’ thing to do for this particular project. She wanted, instead, to focus on the women she admires,” he explained of Meghan.
