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Meghan Markle Had a Very Specific Request for Her British ‘Vogue’ Photos


Meghan Markle recently added British Vogue editor to her list of many accomplishments after serving as the very first guest editor of the magazine’s September issue. She titled the issue “Forces for Change” and focused the content on women she admires, including Laverne Cox, Jane Fonda, and New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern. While Markle doesn’t appear on the cover herself, the women she chose are front and center.

That wasn’t the only big decision she was making behind the scenes. Photographer Peter Lindbergh, who shot Markle when she appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair in 2017, was hand-picked to shoot for the September issue by both the Duchess of Sussex and Vogue editor in chief Edward Enninful. According to Enninful, Lindbergh was the right choice for the job. “It was one of those brilliantly spontaneous moments when HRH The Duchess of Sussex and I had exactly the same idea at exactly the same time,” he said about the decision to hire Lindbergh. “Peter sees beauty in real people, in real situations. He makes everybody feel their best.”

In fact, Markle gave Lindbergh special instructions before the women had their pictures taken for the issue: She wanted to see their natural freckles.

Lindbergh told Vogue he was thrilled to hear that Markle wanted to keep things natural in the photos. “My instructions from the Duchess were clear: ‘I want to see freckles!’” he said. “Well, that was like running through open doors for me. I love freckles.”



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Meghan Markle Is the Guest Editor of British Vogue's September Issue


Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle is adding another role to her accomplished resume: Vogue editor. Specifically, she’s the very first guest editor of British Vogue‘s September issue—the biggest one of the year. The magazine and the palace both announced the news on Sunday evening (July 28) via social media.

“Introducing the September 2019 issue of #BritishVogue, guest-edited by HRH The Duchess of Sussex @SussexRoyal,” British Vogue wrote in an Instagram post with the issue cover. “Entitled #ForcesForChange, the cover features 15 world-leading women who are reshaping public life for global good, and were personally chosen by The Duchess of Sussex, and British Vogue’s editor-in-chief @Edward_Enninful.”

Included among the many women on the cover are Gemma Chan, Yara Shahidi, Greta Thunberg, Laverne Cox, and Jane Fonda, with one space seemingly left open—and it turns out Markle had an inspired reason for that.

“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 this collective,” the caption for @royalsussex’s Instagram announcement reads.

The royal family also released another photo of Markle, who looks to be hard at work on the issue (and also very chic in her tweed Gucci dress).



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The British Royal Family Spent $104 Million of Taxpayer Money Over the Past Year


As Americans, we can have fun obsessing over the British royal family—especially now that California’s own Meghan Markle has joined. We shop the fashions of Markle and her sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, ogle their adorable children, and lament that we don’t have more opportunities to wear fascinators and tiaras. Or is that last one just me?

Of course, royal watching is even more intense in the U.K., but it also has real financial implications for Brits as the royal family is supported by, in part, their tax dollars. Because of that fact, they release an annual report called the Sovereign Grant that details spending for the year, from April 1, 2018 through March 31, 2019. That’s how we learned that the renovations to Markle and Prince Harry’s new home, Frogmore Cottage, cost over $3 million (2.4 million pounds). Members of the family also have massive amounts of private wealth, the spending of which they do not have to report.

According to the report, Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family received $104 million dollars (82.2 million pounds) from British taxpayers.

Geoff Pugh/Getty Images

Let’s break down some of the most interesting details we learned about House Windsor’s spending from the report.

They spent $42 million on renovations to royal palaces and properties.

Along with the upgrades to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Master Archie‘s home, a number of other home design projects took up a big chunk of the budget, including Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, and Windsor Castle.

Travel does cost a thing.

The royal family serve as ambassadors for the U.K. across the country, commonwealth, and the world. Hence, they’re out and about a lot. According to the report, members of the family undertook over 3200 engagements during the year, with the 93-year-old queen doing 140, and the total travel costs were around $5.8 million (4.6 million pounds.)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Australia
Kirsty Wigglesworth/Getty Images



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Meghan Markle Made a Surprise Appearance at the British Fashion Awards 2018


Sound the duchess alarm—Meghan Markle just popped out for the evening in London, and the reason is incredibly special. She made surprise appearance at the 2018 Fashion Awards, a yearly ceremony put on by the British Fashion Council, to honor Clare Waight Keller, the designer of her magnificent wedding dress.

The Duchess of Sussex was on hand to present Waight Keller, the creative director of Givenchy with the British Designer of the Year (Womenswear) award. The crowd, of course, went wild.

“It is such an honor to be here celebrating British fashion and British fashion designers in my new home of the U.K.,” she said on stage.

PHOTO: Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images

Markle, of course, wore custom Givenchy for the occasion—an elegant one-shouldered gown, accessorized with gold bangles by Pippa Small, per What Meghan Wore. And check out the slit on that skirt—this was definitely an outfit made for the fashion crowd. The Duchess slicked her hair back in a sleek low bun.

The Fashion Awards 2018 In Partnership With Swarovski - Show

PHOTO: Joe Maher/BFC/Getty Images

“As all of you in this room know, we have a deep connection to what we wear,” Markle said on stage, before presenting Waight Keller with her award. “Sometimes it’s very personal; sometimes it’s emotional. But for me, this connection is rooted in, really, being able to understand that it’s about supporting and empowering each other, especially as women. When we choose to wear a certain designer, we’re not just a reflection of their creativity and their vision, but we’re also an extension of their values in something of the fabric, so to speak, that is much more meaningful.”

The Fashion Awards 2018 In Partnership With Swarovski - Show

PHOTO: Tristan Fewings/BFC

In her acceptance speech, Waight Keller talked about getting to know the Duchess of Sussex on a “personal level” and thanked her for “trusting her” to design her gown for “the most important day in her life.”

To say it was a successful collaboration under enormous pressure would be a massive understatement—so congrats to the designer on a well-deserved honor.

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Meghan Markle Broke Royal Protocol With Her Nail Polish at the British Fashion Awards


December 10, 2018 6:40 pm

We already know Meghan Markle is unafraid to rock a messy bun, no matter how critical fussy royal watchers might be of her protocol-breaking signature style. And after the British Fashion Awards, we can add another entry to the list of ways the Duchess of Sussex is doing this whole royalty thing her own way.

Markle made a surprise appearance at the 2018 award show on Monday to honor Clare Waight Keller, the designer of her wedding dress. She wore a one-shouldered Givenchy gown, a low hair bun, and dark nail polish that broke with a longstanding royal beauty “rule.”

PHOTO: Joe Maher/BFC/Getty Images

Typically, royals (including Markle’s sister-in-law Kate Middleton) will wear pale shades of polish on their well-manicured nails for official appearances. The reason? Rumor has it that Queen Elizabeth II prefers it that way because she finds colorful nail polish—even if it’s a classic, non-trendy shade—vulgar. Her Majesty herself has been wearing Essie’s Ballet Slippers for decades. And so far, the Duchess of Sussex has played it pretty by-the-book on this front… until tonight.

She was attending a fashion event, after all—and an award-show setting that must have reminded Markle of her past life as an actress. The dark (maybe even black) polish color looked amazing with her one-shouldered gown and gold bangles—and was far from vulgar, to be sure, as you can see in the close-up below.

The Fashion Awards 2018 In Partnership With Swarovski - Show

PHOTO: Jeff Spicer/BFC

Given that press critical of Markle has basically become a cottage industry, we’re sure to hear from some naysayers—however, Twitter was pretty excited to see her change up her mani. “Good on Meghan for not only wearing nail polish that isn’t pink but a bold dark color,” one user wrote. “Mannnn, Meghan Markle DGAF! LOOK AT THE BEAUTY!!! HER BUMP! HER DRESSSSSSS!!! Black nail polish too? I STAN A GORGEOUS REBEL!” said another.

We also wholeheartedly approve—and are keeping our fingers crossed for a festive cherry red sometime this holiday season.

Related Stories:

Meghan Markle Followed the Queen’s Nail Polish Rule for the Royal Wedding

Here’s Why You’ll Never See Kate Middleton Wearing Red Nail Polish

The Fascinating Backstory Behind the Queen’s Favorite Nail Polish





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Meghan Markle Had Her Own British Secret Service Agent on the *Suits* Set


Meghan Markle’s fictional Suits father, Wendell Pierce, just dropped a fun anecdote about their time on the hit USA show together. His latest tidbit comes from an interview he did with Extra earlier this week, regarding the time period when Markle and Prince Harry were dating as she was filming Suits.

According to Pierce, the royal family actually hired a British secret service agent to watch over Markle as she worked on her last few episodes of the show. “I actually didn’t think it was real, then all of a sudden I turn around and there is a guy from MI5 on set every day,” Pierce explained with a laugh. However, the newfound attention and pseudo-bodyguard didn’t phase Markle, who still loved to hang and work with her Suits pals. (They were all invited to her wedding, if you needed clear-cut proof of that.) “The one thing that was clear [was that] she was extremely happy. She had a glow. I knew she was in love,” Pierce continued. “With the whirlwind of publicity and the world of being a royal now, the one thing that’s constant is the fact that I know she loves him.”

For added security, Markle’s name reportedly also had to be removed from scripts and filming pages, in the event her schedule would be leaked to the press. This likely came after Prince Harry issued an official statement confirming Markle as his girlfriend for the first time, in which he criticized a “wave of abuse and harassment” she faced from the “outright sexism and racism of social media trolls.” He also “worried” about her safety in Toronto, where Suits films.

Pierce previously divulged how Markle told him in private about her then-boyfriend Prince Harry: The duo used code words to talk about him. “She met this nice guy and we always talked about him in code, really. You know, ‘How you doing?’ ‘Oh, I’m going to London, coming from London, whatever,'” he said. “It was just she and I in the room and I said, ‘I know your life is going to change but always know, no matter where you are, I will always be your loving fake father.'”

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