So what do you do when you can't get the Duchess of Cambridge to grace your magazine cover? You fake it with some Photoshop...
The new issue of Marie Claire South Africa has just been released, and features a smiling Kate on the cover, apparently wearing a dress designed by an up-and-coming South African designer. (Which is really, just her head and hands, superimposed onto the body of a model.)
The accompanying tagline reads: "Fan art tribute: Kate Middleton, Fashion's new royal icon, wears SA's best local designs."
On closer inspection the publication makes it clear that the image is a mock-up, with a side note at the bottom of the image reading: "*Of course she doesn't. But she should."
Hmm. We're not sure how we feel about this one.
"We were so inspired by her fairytale wedding and her life as a modern-day princess, which is why we elected Kate Middleton as our cover star for the August issue," editor Aspasia Karras told The Telegraph. "The cover is actually a hyper-real illustration of Kate, meant to be a fan art tribute to fashion's new royal icon."
It's well known that the Duchess has always refused to pose for a photo shoot for any magazine, so it comes as little surprise to see a title exercising some creativity to make their dream cover girl a (sort of) reality. But what do you think? Is the cover marvellous, or misleading? Place your votes below...
Check out some of our favourite style moments from the Duchess here: