In 2019, the Duchess of Sussex guest-edited an issue of British Vogue, and it was a months-long controversy. They yelled at Meghan for not appearing on the cover, for who she chose as “changemakers,” and for a million other nitpicky and racist things. One of my favorite criticisms was “but royals aren’t supposed to guest-edit magazines, Meghan is such a gauche American who doesn’t understand our system!” Bless their hearts. King Charles and Queen Camilla have both guest-edited Country Life several times over the years, and now (magically) the heir to the throne is going to do the same. But… but… gauche! Try-hard! Royals don’t guest-edit magazines!
The Prince of Wales will guest-edit Country Life as a “passionate countryman” and advocate for rural mental health services. Prince William, 43, will follow in the footsteps of the King and Queen by becoming a guest editor of the 129-year-old magazine.
He will be taking charge of the November 11 issue to celebrate his love of the countryside and desire to protect the environment, it was announced on Wednesday.
It is understood the Prince’s edition will also reflect his advocacy for improving access to mental-health services in rural areas and celebrate “what a passionate countryman he is”. The magazine will include his “most cherished” view in the country, his favourite recipe and painting, and his own selection of “notable rural champions”.
Mark Hedges, Country Life’s editor-in-chief, said: “I’m completely thrilled that the Prince of Wales has agreed to edit a very special issue of Country Life. Having met with him last week to discuss his plans for his edition, I was struck by what a passionate countryman he is and how much he cares about the welfare of those who manage it.”
He added: “I believe that HRH’s views, concerns and hopes for its future will resonate deeply with our readers and I am excited to see how his energy and commitment to changing rural lives will be reflected in his curated edition.”
Previous Royal family guest editors include the King in 2013 and 2018 to mark his 65th and 70th birthdays, Princess Anne in 2020 and Queen Camilla in 2022. The Queen’s edition, released to mark her 75th birthday, became the biggest-selling issue in the magazine’s history, selling almost 70,000 copies and lifting sales throughout the rest of the year.
When Meghan guest-edited British Vogue, it became the fastest-selling issue in the magazine’s history, and they probably sold out of about 200K copies in ten days. Just FYI, since no one is mentioning it in all of this talk of royals suddenly being allowed to guest-edit magazines. As for William… lmao. I already feel sorry for the Country Life team tasked with working with William. Remember, this is a man who many believe is functionally illiterate, who can’t even be bothered to read briefing memos, much less books and magazines. William’s Kensington Palace staffers are going to need to brush up on their own country-life studies so that they can ghost-write and ghost-edit for poor Bill.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Kensington Palace.
