Meghan Markle’s British Vogue issue the fastest selling in 103-year history of the magazine, plus other notable covers | Life (2024)

Markle has not been the most conventional member of the royal house but her unique approaches have been record-breaking, in addition to this, her name will forever be in the fashion history books.

It’s common for members of the royal house to appear on magazine covers but when Meghan was asked to guest edit the 2019 September issue of British Vogue she further cemented herself into history.

The magazine's editor-in-chief, Edward Enninful, announced that the issue was the fasted selling issue in the history of British Vogue, having been sold out in 10 days, and was the best-selling issue of the decade. In its 103-year history, it was also the first time a September issue was guest edited.

READ MORE:It’s a royal fashion affair - duch*ess of Sussex to start a fashion line, designing workwear

Meghan’s concept for the issue was to put a spotlight on women who are making a positive change in the world. Instead of her face on the cover, she had the likes of supermodel Adut Akech, English actress Gemma Chan and activist and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Forbes reports that in this same year British Vogue helped Condé Nast recover from its financial loss from the previous year with profits of £2.7 million (about R52.2 million).

“You have an editor’s eye, I mean, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Edward says about Meghan’s editorial direction. This and Meghan’s influence as duch*ess of Sussex are just two of the catalysts for the unprecedented success of the “Forces of Change” issue.

READ MORE:The duch*ess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, guest edits British Vogue, and we think that's a bigger honour than being a cover star

Meghan, who has stepped away from her official royal duties, was expected to join the list of other royals who have graced the magazine's cover - but she chose to pay homage to other women instead. Other royals who've graced British Vogue's cover include Princess Diana in 1981 and Kate Middleton, the duch*ess of Cambridge, who appeared in 2016.

These are the best-selling and most memorable magazine covers in history:

People Magazine’s "Tribute to Diana" issue, which, according to Mashable, sold more than 3.1 million copies.

Glamour Magazine’s August 1968 featuring model Katiti Kironde, a winner of Glamour's Top 10 College Women competition, is one of the most memorable covers because she was the first black woman to be seen on a cover of a major women's magazine.

Caitlyn Jenner’s Vanity Fair 2015 cover was among the magazine covers, which, according to AdWeek, resulted in unprecedented sales at the time of 400 000 copies.

One of the most popular American Vogue covers was Anna Wintour's first Madonna cover that, according to CBS, increased sales with about 40 percent.

Ellen DeGeneres’ Time cover in 1997 called "Yep, I'm Gay" was a memorable one and, as it turns out, did not end her career.

SOURCES:CBS,AdWeek,Mashable,Forbes

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