Queen Elizabeth II has just landed her first ever Vogue cover, as the 95-year-old British monarch prepares to celebrate her iconic Platinum Jubilee. Her Majesty will appear on the fashion bible’s April 2022 cover – in honor of her remarkable 70 years on the throne – with a stunning black and white portrait taken way back in 1957 by the 1st Earl of Snowdon, Antony Armstrong Jones, the former husband of Princess Margaret.
In the iconic picture, The Queen can be seen wearing the George IV State Diadem (i.e., the crown that was made in 1820 for King George IV) and staring gracefully into the camera. It was reportedly taken around the time of her and her late husband Prince Philip’s tenth wedding anniversary.
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According to Edward Enninful, British Vogue Editor-in-Chief and European Editorial Director of Vogue, the April issue “pays tribute to our long reigning Queen on a special edition cover, and looks back at Vogue’s unique relationship with the monarch, charting the course of a reign as record-breaking as it is unique, through a series of familiar and rarely seen images, drawn from our archive here at Vogue House in London.” Sounds like it’s going to be an unmissable issue!
The Queen’s front cover isn’t the only version that will be released for the April issue, as The Queen’s Gambit star Anya Taylor-Joy also has her own cover, where she is paying tribute to The Queen’s original cover, and is wearing a replica of her crown and a regal-looking silver dress. We love the direction Vogue went in for this iconic issue!
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It’s quite a rare occasion for the royals to feature on the cover of Vogue. The late Princess Diana famously covered British Vogue back in 1990, while Kate Middleton featured on British Vogue‘s front cover in 2016, in honor of the mag’s 100th anniversary special issue. And Meghan Markle should also get a mention too, as she guest-edited an issue back in 2019, with her cover featuring images of women she described as “forces for change.”
Vogue‘s April 2022 issue is officially out on March 29th – we feel it’s going to be something of a collectors’ piece, so we recommend running, not walking, to your nearest newsstand.
