From impossible demands to lambasting reporters, Meghan Markle has made her fair share of enemies across some of the most famous magazines in the world.
On Monday, MailOnline revealed that Meghan was ‘banned’ by Anna Wintour from being on the cover of British Vogue in September 2022 after the magazine boss became ‘frustrated with all the Duchess of Sussex’s team’s micromanaging’, according to a source.
But this wasn’t the duchess first run-in with leading figures in the industry.
Meghan’s behaviour led the legendary former Tatler editor Tina Brown to blast the former Suits actress for having ‘the worst judgement of anyone in the entire world’.
Brown, who wrote the bestselling royal biography The Palace Papers, said: ‘The trouble with Meghan is that she has the worst judgment of anyone in the entire world. She’s flawless about getting it all wrong.
‘I mean, she just is. She really is a perfectionist about getting it all wrong.’
Before she was even the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan was already starting to build a bad reputation among magazine editors.
In September 2017, two months before her engagement to Harry was announced, Meghan graced the cover of Vanity Fair.
Meghan Markle at the 2017 Invictus Games in Canada. From impossible demands to lambasting reporters, Meghan Markle has made her fair share of enemies across some of the most famous magazines in the world
Vogue’s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour ‘banned’ Meghan from being on the cover of British Vogue in September 2022 after the magazine boss became ‘frustrated’ with the duchess
Meghan on the cover of Vanity Fair in 2017. Even before she was the Duchess of Sussex Meghan was already ruffling feathers across the magazine industry
According to the then-editor of the magazine, Graydon Carter, the soon-to-be Duchess of Sussex challenged a reporter over why she was being asked about her relationship with the now-Duke of Sussex rather than her charity work.
Speaking to the New York Post, Carter claimed that Meghan asked the journalist: ‘Excuse me, is this going to all be about Prince Harry?
‘Because I thought we were going to be talking about my charities and my philanthropy.’
Carter then admitted he had ‘no idea’ who Meghan was at the time and added that she was ‘slightly adrift on the facts and reality’.
Earlier this year, Carter gave a simple but scathing takedown of Meghan during a discussion with Interview Magazine.
When asked about his thoughts on the duchess, he called her ‘The Undine Spragg of Montecito.’
His reference was to the main character in The Custom of the Country, a tragicomedy by author Edith Wharton that was published in 1913.
The book tells the story of Spragg, a social climber who moves from the Midwest to New York to experience the high life.
The former editor of Vanity Fair Graydon Carter claims Meghan challenged a reporter over why she was being asked about her relationship with the now-Duke of Sussex rather than her charity work
Meghan’s behaviour led the legendary former Tatler editor Tina Brown (pictured) to blast the former Suits actress for having ‘the worst judgement of anyone in the entire world’
Meghan Markle with the former editor of British Vogue Edward Enninful. Meghan found herself at loggerheads with Enninful when she attempted to ‘micromanage’ her cover of Vogue before it was scrapped
Spragg then marries a man from Manhattan’s high society, but she’s never satisfied because of her greed and ambition.
On Goodreads, Spragg is described as ‘vain, spoiled, and selfish.’
Two years later, Meghan guest-edited the September 2019 Forces for Change issue of British Vogue which featured 15 ‘trailblazing change makers’ on its cover.
It became the fastest-selling issue in the magazine’s 104-year history, selling out in ten days.
Among the advocates featured on the cover were Greta Thunberg, Sinéad Burke, actors Gemma Chan and Jameela Jamil and then-New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
But critics pointed out that the Queen was not among the 15 ‘women she admires’ featured, and neither were nurses, doctors, lawyers and teachers.
And questions were raised over why the Duchess only carried out 22 royal engagements in the seven months she spent as an unpaid guest editor.
In the book Battle of Brothers, royal author Robert Lacey wrote about the huge unpaid time commitment Meghan made to the magazine.
The Duchess of Sussex was the guest editor on the 2019 September issue of British Vogue
Meghan with Anna Wintour behind her at the 2019 US Open. According to a source Anna banned Meghan from the cover once she got wind of her demands
He wrote: ‘In the same seven months, January to July 2019, the Court Circular showed the Duchess of Sussex carrying out just 22 royal engagements, less than one per week – though this period did include Meghan’s maternity leave, along with a three-day tour to Morocco with Harry.
‘But why had this “powerhouse” recruit to the highest echelons of the House of Windsor spent seven months labouring so intensively on behalf of British Vogue – entirely unremunerated it must be emphasised again – while doing hardly any work at all for the British Royal Family?’
Three years later, the duchess was due to appear on the cover of British Vogue at the same time as Meghan’s keynote appearance at the One Young World Summit in Manchester in September 2022.
But Conde Nast insiders claim it was abruptly pulled and scrapped completely.
An insider told MailOnline that Meghan was being ‘difficult about making it a cover’ and her team were ‘insisting on particular straplines’.
She then found herself at loggerheads with not only the editor of British Vogue, Edward Enninful, but the Queen of fashion magazines Anna Wintour.
The insider said: ‘Anna heard about it, and just like banned her and said, “That’s it. We don’t want to do this”.
‘And so she didn’t get the cover, and I guess she didn’t even get the story. [Edward Enninful] probably agreed with Anna that you don’t get to call the shots on who’s on the cover. That’s absolutely an Editor’s decision.
A candid photograph released alongside the September cover pictures the Duchess in the workroom of the Smart Works office in London
‘Anna was p***** off. Anna was like frustrated with all the micromanaging, and just was like, “All right. That’s it. She can’t have the cover and we’re not doing the story”.’
The source added that Meghan’s ‘level of desire for detail and control on the media is almost like Beyoncé level… but she’s not Beyoncé.’
However, the Duchess is said to have been relaxed with ‘no expectations’ but her team had ‘high expectations for the piece’ in Vogue.
‘Enninful was not in a position to meet those expectations. He already had a magazine cover in the bag for that month,’ Conde Nast insiders told the Mail On Sunday.
Shelving the project is said to have damaged Enninful and the Duchess’ friendship. ‘Edward was furious to have lost the project, as were the powers that be at Conde Nast,’ a source told the MoS.
Sources claim that Meghan’s team had hoped the couple could feature on a special digital cover Vogue, which is released alongside the print edition.
But again, it is understood that Enninful declined. ‘He didn’t think it was appropriate to give her the cover,’ the source explained.
He had been one of Meghan’s most staunchest supporters after her now-infamous ‘Megxit’ Oprah interview in 2021.
He defended the Duchess, calling her a ‘brave woman’ and describing the treatment of her as ‘very unfair’ and ‘harsh’.
But he said he ‘wouldn’t just blame it on racism’, adding: ‘I think sometimes it takes a minute to understand the rules.’ Whether he would defend her again today is another matter.
Sources close to Meghan deny that she ever sought a Vogue cover and say she had been invited to appear.
Last week, Harry and Meghan suffered a blow when they e failed to make Time Magazine’s inaugural list of greatest do-gooders.
Famous figures including, Oprah Winfrey, David Beckham and the Prince and Princess of Wales have made the 2025 list of the most influential philanthropists.
The 2021 cover showed Meghan standing front and centre dressed in all white while Harry is behind his wife leaning his arms on her shoulder wearing all black while outside their $14.65million mansion in Montecito, California
Harry and Meghan at a different Time Magazine event in April. The duke and duchess failed to make Time Magazine’s inaugural list of greatest do-gooders
However, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have failed to make the cut – having previously made the traditional Time100 list in 2021 and 2018.
It was their appearance on one of the magazine’s covers in 2021 which saw the couple ridiculed online for being ‘awkward’ and ‘airbrushed’.
The cover showed Meghan standing front and centre dressed in all white while Harry is behind his wife leaning his arms on her shoulder wearing all black while outside their $14.65million mansion in Montecito, California.
Social media users were quick to point out that the couple appeared to have fell victim to a ‘terrible retouching job’ which made the Sussexes look ‘CGI’.
One critic claimed the photo reflected the power dynamic in the relationship, because Meghan is in front of her husband, tweeting: ‘Wow, this photo speaks volumes. There is no hiding who’s in control’.
