Edward Enninful, the former editor of British Vogue, has bluntly dismissed the possibility that onetime friend Meghan Markle will appear in the pages of his new magazine.
The 53-year-old, whose fresh creative project EE72 launched with a celebrity-studded party in London on Friday night, worked alongside the Duchess of Sussex, 44, when she guest-edited the September 2019 issue of Vogue.
But, while that edition, which championed inspirational women under the banner ‘Forces for Change’, became the fastest-selling issue in the publication’s 104-year history, Edward has indicated that he will not collaborate with Prince Harry’s wife again.
‘Meghan and I had a great moment with the issue we did, but I feel like I have done it and I wouldn’t necessarily repeat myself,’ Edward told The Times.
The remark took on even greater force given that, in the same interview, Edward sang the praises of Meghan’s father-in-law, King Charles, 76, and Queen Camilla, 78.
Before Prince Harry and King Charles’s 50-minute meeting at Clarence House earlier this month, the father and son had not met in person for 18 months.
Edward, who was appointed Global Ambassador for Charles’s youth-focused charity, the Prince’s Trust (now the King’s Trust) in October 2021, added: ‘I love King Charles and Queen Camilla – I went to the coronation with Katy Perry.
He aded: ‘I am happy to have them in the magazine. They care about the same things I do.’
Edward Enninful (pictured this month in London) has dismissed the possibility that he might work with Meghan Markle again in his new publication
The creative powerhouse, who was appointed fashion director of i-D magazine at the age of 18, spoke candidly about recruiting celebrity friends, including EE72’s first cover star Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow, and best pal Naomi Campbell, for his new project, which features an online platform and four print editions annually.
Supermodel Naomi appeared on Edward’s remarkable final Vogue cover for the March 2024 issue.
Featuring 40 ‘legendary’ women, from Serena Williams and Oprah Winfrey to actors Cynthia Erivo and Anya Taylor-Joy, the cover had one notable absence: Meghan.
Ahead of the release of the issue, Meghan’s supporters questioned her omission from the cover, referencing the close friendship that she and Edward appeared to have enjoyed at one time.
It was, however, revealed in May by the Mail on Sunday that the pair’s friendship had imploded two years prior to Edward’s final cover.
A disagreement over how Vogue planned to present a series of articles about Meghan and Harry’s charitable work was reportedly to blame.
The coverage, designed to tie in with Meghan’s keynote appearance at the One Young World Summit in Manchester in September 2022, would have involved extensive features across print and digital – but Condé Nast insiders claimed it was abruptly scrapped.
A source said: ‘The duchess and her team had high expectations and were expecting she might get a print cover or at least a digital cover out of it, but Enninful was not able to meet those expectations. He already had a magazine cover in the bag for that month.’
Meghan (pictured in Vancouver last year) and Edward were once believed to be good friends after she guest-edited the September 2019 issue of British Vogue
The decision to shelve the project reportedly caused irreparable damage to their friendship. ‘Edward was furious to have lost the project, as were the powers that be at Conde Nast,’ a source told the Mail on Sunday.
‘The whole process became very difficult. Edward could only promise her a big showy feature inside the magazine and online – but she turned it down.’
According to insiders, the project needed a full production team, including photographers, videographers, stylists, and editors, to shoot exclusive images and film an in-depth video feature with the Sussexes.
Sources claimed that after Edward explained he had another cover in mind, Meghan’s team had asked if the couple could feature on Vogue’s special digital cover instead, which is released alongside the print edition.
But it is understood that Edward once again declined. ‘He didn’t think it was appropriate to give her the cover,’ the source explained.
It was then that Meghan’s team pulled the plug, apparently leaving relations between the pair in tatters.
Sources added that during the years that followed, Edward had increased his public involvement with the Royal Family, claiming that that was not something Meghan could’ve easily overlooked, particularly as he was initially supportive of her now-infamous ‘Megxit’ Oprah interview in 2021.
Edward, who was awarded an OBE in 2016 for his services to diversity in the fashion industry, is a trustee for The King’s Fund, King Charles’s charity, and interviewed the monarch for Vogue when Charles was still Prince of Wales in 2020.
Edward is a fan of King Charles (seen together at The Sovereign’s Creative Industries Garden Party at Buckingham Palace last year). He was appointed Global Ambassador of the Prince’s Trust (now the King’s Trust)
He also praised the King as ‘charming’, ‘funny’ and ‘kind’ when he penned the monarch’s entry in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2023 list.
Edward acknowledged that the then-Prince’s Trust had helped people he knew into work when he was a child living on a council estate in west London.
Noting that the King ‘didn’t have to do any of it’, he lauded Charles for his commitment to improving opportunities for young people from underprivileged backgrounds.
Writing the entry, Mr Enninful said: ‘He could’ve let his privilege shield him from the realities of our hardship in a time when these were not a cause célèbre. But he always met us with an open mind and a listening ear.’
He added that the monarchy is ‘not perfect’ but that King Charles has the ability to modernise things.
