The September Issue of British Vogue will be guest-edited by the woman editor-in-chief Edward Enninful calls "the country's most influential beacon of change": the Duchess of Sussex, formerly known as Meghan Markle. Enninful says Meghan will be the first person to guest edit the September issue, which is seen as the most influential one of the year, reports the Guardian. He says she turned down the suggestion that she appear on the cover because she felt it would be too "boastful." The cover will instead feature 15 women selected by the duchess as "forces for change," including Jane Fonda, teen climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg, and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. The duchess, who gave birth to son Archie in May, has been working on the issue over the last seven months.
The woman are "trailblazing changemakers, united by their fearlessness in breaking barriers," Buckingham Palace said in a statement. Having Meghan guest edit the issue has been "an honor, a pleasure, and a wonderful surprise," Enninful says. "As you will see from her selections throughout this magazine, she is also willing to wade into more complex and nuanced areas, whether they concern female empowerment, mental health, race, or privilege." Megan personally met with several of the women featured in the issue, including Ardern and Irish activist Sinead Burke, People reports. Her other selections include Crazy Rich Asians star Gemma Chan, boxer Ramla Al, and Orange Is the New Black star Laverne Cox. (More Meghan Markle stories.)