The Duchess of Cornwall, as photographed by The Duchess of Cambridge for Country Life

In a royal double, the cover image of the July 13 issue of Country Life, which is guest-edited by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, was taken by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge.

‘The Duchess of Cambridge took our cover images at the request of our Guest Editor, The Duchess of Cornwall, and we could not be happier with the results — in fact, 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,’ says Country Life’s Managing and Features Editor, Paula Lester, who has worked closely with a small team from Clarence House for the past six months to pull together the souvenir 244-page issue, which marks The Duchess of Cornwall’s 75th birthday and celebrates her passion for the countryside.

A consummate professional, The Duchess of Cambridge (shown here in a behind-the scenes picture taken by The Duchess of Cornwall’s country dresser, Shona Williams) talked through the shoot with Paula ahead of her assignment at Raymill, The Duchess of Cornwall’s private home in Wiltshire.

‘The Duchess of Cambridge took her commission very seriously and was incredibly professional about the task at hand,’ says Paula.

‘She phoned me to discuss our requirements for the cover and subsequently composed a range of beautifully shot images.’

The photograph reflects the genuine joy that spending time in the country brings to The Duchess of Cornwall, to the delight of Country Life’s Editor, Mark Hedges. ‘We are thrilled to have our Guest Editor captured so magnificently by royal photographer The Duchess of Cambridge.

‘We understand this is the first time a formal portrait of The Duchess of Cornwall has been taken by The Duchess of Cambridge for a magazine and we are honoured to have been chosen to be the first to publish this beautiful image. The photographs are superb and we would be delighted to offer The Duchess of Cambridge another commission!’