Prince Charles to guest edit Country Life in November, with Duchess of Cornwall to be one of the writers

HRH The Prince of Wales is to edit the November 14 issue of Country Life magazine.

Country Life editor Mark Hedges with HRH Prince Charles
Country Life editor Mark Hedges with HRH Prince Charles
(Image credit: John Paul / Country Life Picture Library)

Five years after The Prince of Wales made his first foray into magazine editing when, on the occasion of his 65th birthday, he took charge of the November 13 edition of Country Life in 2013 – which went on to become the magazine’s biggest-selling issue of all time – The Prince will be masterminding another issue: November 14, 2018.

Agreeing to take up the Editor’s hot seat again, this time to mark his 70th birthday, The Prince has been working on content for the commemorative edition – which will be published on the day of his birthday – since February this year.

Special access has been granted to Country Life’s Architectural and Gardens Editors to write articles about Clarence House, Highgrove Gardens and Dumfries House, the Scottish estate The Prince saved for the nation in 2007.

The Prince has chosen a world-famous British actress friend for the interview pages and has supervised the cover and the historic Frontispiece. The Duchess of Cornwall has written about her support for the Medical Detection Dogs charity.

The myriad of eclectic features The Prince has commissioned reflect his wide-ranging interests in art, music, architecture and wildlife conservation, as well as his desire to promote a rural way of life and preserve heritage crafts. He has also singled out a group of hard-working champions of the countryside, whom he wishes to applaud for their contribution to rural life.

‘The Prince has been a long-term supporter of Country Life, so we are delighted that he has agreed to let us have the benefit of his wise counsel and insight for a second time,’ says Editor Mark Hedges.

‘We are very excited about producing a special collectors’ issue that will afford unique insights into The Prince of Wales’s thinking and his enduring commitment to our world.’

Paula Lester

An experienced journalist, Paula Lester, Country Life's Managing & Features Editor, has worked for the magazine for 10 years — during which time she’s overseen two special issues guest-edited by His Majesty The King in 2013 and in 2018, and the bestselling 2022 edition masterminded by his wife, Queen Camilla. A gamekeeper’s daughter, Paula began her career as a crime reporter on The Sidmouth Herald in Devon, before becoming Pony Club & Young Rider Editor, then Racing Editor, at Horse & Hound. Paula lives in Somerset with her two working Labradors, Nimrod and Rocky.