Meghan Markle criticized over her ‘Women She Admires’ choices for Vogue — and who she didn’t pick

The Duchess of Sussex is being scrutinized over who she did not include on her list, and it's a woman with a very large presence in her life over the past year

Brianna Rhodes

Jul 30, 2019

Meghan Markle TheGrio — Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, made her first public appearence at Trooping the Colour, a celebration of the Queen's official birthday. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, is facing backlash for her choices of 15 women she admires for the September issue of British Vogue.

Markle, who served as guest editor, worked alongside editor-in-chief, Edward Enninful, to work on the Forces for Change issue to placed the women on the cover, and as usual, the public has something to say about her decision, Pop Culture reports.

The issue’s cover features notable people such as activist and actress, Yara Shahidi, author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, actress, equal rights activist, Laverne Cox, and more. Enninful revealed that Markle, herself did not want to be included on the cover.

Although all of the women featured have made an impact on the world, the princess was criticized for not including Queen Elizabeth II, but instead featuring New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Arden. Ardern has been warned to stay out of politics since she is a member of the royal family, the site reports.

“You have got to be quite careful, if you want a voice, that is great. That is perfect if you are not necessarily a member of the Royal Family,” Rob Jobson, a royal commentator told Sky News. “But, she has got to be very careful not to be partisan and I think that whilst you are using this for a force of good, you have just got to be a little bit careful on the politics side.”

The issue will also include an interview with Markle and former first lady Michelle Obama along with an interview with Prince Harry and conservationist, Jane Goodall.

“These last seven months have been a rewarding process, curating and collaborating with Edward Enninful, British Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief, to take the year’s most-read fashion issue and steer its focus to the values, causes and people making impact in the world today,” Markle said in a statement to PEOPLE. “Through this lens I hope you’ll feel the strength of the collective in the diverse selection of women chosen for the cover as well as the team of support I called upon within the issue to help bring this to light. I hope readers feel as inspired as I do, by the ‘Forces for Change’ they’ll find within these pages.”