It looks like Meghan Markle’s Hollywood royal routine didn’t quite charm the world’s top fashion editors — and her latest debacle is just another reminder that even former duchesses don’t get to call all the shots.
According to reports swirling in British and American media, Markle’s once-close friendship with former British Vogue editor Edward Enninful has hit the rocks — and the reason reads like a checklist straight from a Hollywood diva playbook.
Markle, who was in talks with Vogue for a splashy September 2022 feature surrounding her keynote speech at the One Young World Summit in Manchester, reportedly bombarded Enninful with a long list of demands. Among them: total editorial control over the cover, the story, the photos, the headlines — and not just in the UK edition, but globally.
Yes, you read that right. Meghan apparently wanted the crown jewel of fashion magazines on both sides of the Atlantic to bend the knee — with simultaneous US and UK covers under her direction. Sources say the request raised eyebrows in the publishing world, where even icons like Beyoncé haven’t been granted that level of control.
“She wanted the photographer, the writer, the final edit, the headlines — all of it. Nobody gets that,” a fashion insider told Page Six. “Not even Beyoncé.”
The situation grew so tense that Markle reportedly reached out directly to Vogue queenpin Anna Wintour to plead her case in a personal Zoom call. Wintour, ever the professional, took the meeting — but had already locked in Serena Williams as her cover star. The polite response? Thanks, but no thanks.
Undeterred, Markle pressed further. But the answer didn’t change.
While some sources close to Markle tried to spin the story, claiming Vogue had been chasing her for years, the reality seems a bit different. Enninful, who had previously worked with Markle on the 2019 “Forces for Change” issue (where she opted to guest edit instead of appear on the cover), already had Linda Evangelista booked for the UK September 2022 issue. When he couldn’t meet Markle’s extravagant expectations, the duchess reportedly pulled the plug and walked away from the opportunity.
In classic celebrity fashion, Markle still managed to land somewhere — on the digital cover of The Cut, alongside rapper Megan Thee Stallion. Not exactly the Vogue spread she’d envisioned while promoting her now-defunct podcast, Archetypes.
According to insiders, the fallout between Markle and Enninful was significant. “The duchess and her team had high expectations… but Enninful was not able to meet those expectations,” one source said. “Edward was furious to have lost the project… the whole process became very difficult.”
Despite the attempt to patch things up with rumors of birthday texts and flower exchanges, the facts suggest otherwise: Markle demanded too much, and not even the most influential names in fashion were willing to play along.
In the end, it’s just another chapter in the Markle playbook — overpromise, underdeliver, and blame everyone else when the red carpet isn’t rolled out exactly as planned.
