Enninful: British monarchy isn't perfect but King Charles can evolve

Meghan’s one-time pal Edward Enninful says the British monarchy ‘isn’t perfect’ but King Charles can ‘evolve with the times’

  • King Charles made Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People 2023 list
  • READ MORE: British Vogue editor Edward Enninful shuts down rumors he is set to replace Anna Wintour 

British Vogue editor Edward Enninful has praised King Charles as a monarch who can ‘evolve with the times’ despite being head of an imperfect institution.

Mr Enninful, who was once close friends with Meghan Markle, praised the King as ‘charming’, ‘funny’ and ‘kind’ as he penned the monarch’s entry in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2023 list.

The fashion editor, 51, who is also an ambassador for King Charles’s charity The Prince’s Trust, made note of how the organisation 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 praised Charles, 74, 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.’

Editor-in-chief of British Vogue Edward Enninful (pictured with King Charles at a Prince’s Trust awards event in 2021) has praised the monarch’s ability to ‘evolve with the times’ in the monarch’s entry in Time Magazine’s Most Influential People of 2023 list

He added that he believes the monarchy is ‘not perfect’ but that King Charles has the ability to modernise things.

Mr Enniful’s links to the monarchy don’t end with King Charles, as he also developed a friendship with the Duchess of Sussex when he collaborated with her on an issue of British Vogue in 2019.

The ‘Forces for Change’ issue put inspirational women including actresses Gemma Chan and Jane Fonda, and former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern on the front cover. 

When it was published in the September, it was the fastest selling issue in the magazine’s 104-year history, selling out in less than 10 days. 

The editor of British Vogue, 51, was a one-time pal of the Duchess of Sussex after the pair collaborated on the Forces for Change issue of the magazine in September 2019

Mr Enninful once said of the Duchess of Sussex that she was a ‘brave woman’ but added that fierce criticism she had received was not solely down to racism

The following year, Mr Enninful spoke to Sky News about criticism Meghan received when she joined the royal family, arguing that he didn’t believe it was solely down to racism.

Describing the Duchess as a ‘brave woman’, he said: ‘Parts of it were probably racism, but it was more of an institution.’

He added that while criticism was ‘harsh’, he ‘wouldn’t just blame it on racism’, saying: ‘She walked into an institution and everyone expected her to know the rules. And I think sometimes it takes a minute to understand the rules.’ 

However he continued to say he believed the treatment of her was ‘very unfair’.

The editor-in-chief of British Vogue’s powerful words about King Charles come days after it was announced that Prince Harry will attend the coronation, but Meghan will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

Buckingham Palace confirmed the news in a statement on Wednesday, saying it was ‘pleased to confirm’ the Duke of Sussex will be at Westminster Abbey on May 6. 

But the Duchess will stay home at the couple’s residence in Montecito with one-year-old Lilibet and Archie, whose fourth birthday is on the same day as the ceremony. 

The couple’s friend Omid Scobie confirmed Archie’s birthday ‘played a factor in the couple’s decision’ and he expected it would be a ‘fairly quick trip to the UK’ for Harry. The Duke will only attend the ceremony itself, which is likely to last a few hours.

A royal observer told MailOnline: ‘Charles will be pleased. The rest of the family will be relieved that Meghan won’t be there – it would have been particularly uncomfortable for Kate.’

Harry and Meghan had controversially delayed their decision over whether they would fly in for the ceremony, despite the RSVP date of April 3 having passed.

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