Country Life wins Cover of the Year award — with help from The Queen and The Princess of Wales

Country Life's cover featuring a picture of The Queen taken by the Princess of Wales has won one of the top awards in publishing.

The cover of Country Life 13 July 2022, guest edited by The Duchess of Cornwall. Credit: The Duchess of Cambridge for Country Life
The cover of Country Life 13 July 2022, guest edited by The Duchess of Cornwall. Credit: The Duchess of Cambridge for Country Life
(Image credit: The Duchess of Cambridge / Country Life)
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We're thrilled to announce that Country Life has won the Cover of the Year title at the PPA Awards, the 'Oscars' of the magazine world.

The winning cover was this one from the 13 July 2022 issue, which was guest-edited by Her Majesty The Queen while she was Duchess of Cornwall.

HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, as she was at the time, photographed at Raymill, Wiltshire by the then Duchess of Cambridge, a shot taken for the Country Life special guest edit to mark HRH The Duchess of Cornwall's 75th birthday.
(Image credit: HRH THE DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE)

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to all who voted — it's the only award voted for directly by readers — and also, of course, to HRH Catherine, Princess of Wales, who took the photograph.

The cover image for the issue featured a portrait of The Queen taken in the garden at her house, Raymill, in Wiltshire, by The Princess of Wales. It was one of several images taken by The Princess for the special guest-edit issue.

'The set of images she took was so good that we struggled to choose only three, from which The Duchess of Cornwall made her final selection,’ said Country Life’s Managing and Features Editor, Paula Lester.

Then then-HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, photographed in the gardens of Raymill by the then-HRH The Duchess of Cambridge. ©HRH The Duchess of Cambridge for Country Life

A behind-the-scenes picture of the (then) two Duchesses was captured during the shoot by The Queen's country dresser, Shona Williams.

A tale of two Duchesses: this behind-the-scenes image of the photo shoot.
(Image credit: Shona Williams, The Duchess of Cornwall’s country dresser.)
Country Life
Country Life

Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by His Majesty The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.

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