--- title: Meghan Markle Had Standards for the British Vogue Issue description: As guest editor for the September British Vogue, the Duchess of Sussex had an important suggestion for the cover photos: keep it natural. canonical: https://time.com/5637651/british-vogue-meghan-markle/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-07-29T15:43:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:59:43.132Z og:title: Meghan Markle Had Very Specific Standards for the British Vogue Photoshoots og:description: As guest editor of British Vogue, the Duchess of Sussex had one photo request og:url: https://time.com/5637651/british-vogue-meghan-markle/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Meghan Markle Had Very Specific Standards for the British Vogue Photoshoots twitter:description: As guest editor of British Vogue, the Duchess of Sussex had one photo request twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Meghan Markle Had Very Specific Photography Standards for Her Guest-Edited British _Vogue_ Issue  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jul 29, 2019 3:43 PM CUT  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jul 29, 2019 3:43 PM CUT When the Duchess of Sussex [Meghan Markle](https://time.com/5624491/meghan-markle-beyonce/ "undefined") became guest editor for the September issue of British _Vogue_, it may have been one of the more [ambitious recent crossovers](https://time.com/5207189/avengers-infinity-war-crossover-meme/ "undefined"). The pairing of the new royal and the fashion magazine also came with a set of standards that Markle decreed: the entire magazine was intended to celebrate the “power of the collective” and put the spotlight on inspiring women making a difference in the world. And aesthetically — since this is a fashion magazine, after all — there was direction, too: Markle stipulated even the photography would take a realistic tack. “My instructions from the Duchess were clear: ‘I want to see freckles!’” photographer Peter Lindbergh explained to _Vogue_. He was the mutual choice of Markle and _Vogue_ editor Edward Enninful to shoot their diverse cast of cover stars, thanks to his noted talent for seeing “beauty in real people, in real situations,” as Enninful explains. Lindbergh was very much on board with the plan, too. “That was like running through open doors for me. I love freckles,” [he said.](https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/peter-lindbergh-september-2019-vogue-cover "undefined") (Markle famously displayed her freckles for the world during [her wedding day](https://time.com/5222871/meghan-markle-makeup-royal-wedding/ "undefined") in May 2018 as well, and has been vocal about embracing them as a feature. Ultimately, Lindbergh captured a range of women — from [Laverne Cox](https://time.com/5524043/laverne-cox-2019-nyfw/ "undefined") to [Greta Thunberg](https://time.com/5637506/greta-thunberg-atlantic-americas-trip/ "undefined"), Yara Shahidi, Jacinda Ardern and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie — for the “Forces of Change” issue. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5637651/british-vogue-meghan-markle/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5637651/british-vogue-meghan-markle/"},"headline":"Meghan Markle Had Very Specific Photography Standards for Her Guest-Edited British Vogue Issue","datePublished":"2019-07-29T15:43:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:59:43.132Z","description":"\"I want to see freckles\"","url":"https://time.com/5637651/british-vogue-meghan-markle/","keywords":["Newsfeed","fashion","royals","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5637651/british-vogue-meghan-markle/","name":"Meghan Markle Had Very Specific Photography Standards for Her Guest-Edited British Vogue Issue"}}]}] ```