Last year, the then-editor-in-chief of British Vogue, Alexandra Shulman, put the Duchess of Cambridge on the cover of their centenary issue. It was the first time Kate had ever agreed to a magazine editorial, and Kate got to dictate her terms: no glamour, no gowns, no palaces, no castles, no glam squad. She just wanted to look simple and impossibly horsey and aristocratic in some jeans and a terrible hat in a country setting. Some of you pointed out that it almost seemed like Kate was doing Jecca Craig cosplay. The issue sold poorly and a few months after Shulman’s big “get,” she was no longer editor of British Vogue. Perhaps there was no connection, perhaps there was a connection.

What I do know is that Shulman has taken it upon herself to talk a lot about what Kate is like in person, and what it was like to work with her on this kind of project, a relatively simple photoshoot. Shulman previously said that Kate is not interested in being a “high voltage celebrity” like Princess Diana, and basically Kate is a lovely sort of country girl, like an aristocrat who just dresses up because she has to for the job. Shulman also claimed that Kate is “not a clothes horse” nor is Kate a “silent mannequin,” all evidence to the contrary. Now Shulman has more to say about the photoshoot:

On Saturday the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge celebrated six years of marriage, but that isn’t the only anniversary Kate has this weekend. Yesterday, April 29, also marked one year since the wife of Prince William was unveiled as making her debut appearance on the cover of British Vogue. To mark the occasion former editor-in-chief of the magazine Alexandra Shulman has recounted the surprisingly laid back shoot with Her Royal Highness. In her first-person piece for Vogue Online the editor recalled how Kate shunned ball gowns on set in favour of a more casual wardrobe.

Shulman writes: ‘She didn’t want to be dressed as a fashion plate and was not keen to be shot in gala gowns and tiaras.’

As was seen in the centenary issue of the magazine the Duchess was photographed by Josh Ollins in a wardrobe she would select for herself at the weekend made up of mainly jeans and t-shirts. According to Shulman the royal, 35, who had chosen to be photographed in the countryside to reflect her personal life, had arrived on set in hair rollers – ‘joking’ about who might have spotted her on her journey in.

Surprisingly, while she spends much of her day being photographed Shulman described Kate as not feeling ‘comfortable at end of lens’. What she did notice, however, was the Duchess’ unexpected lack of interest in her own appearance.

Recalling her reaction after having her makeup done Shulman writes: ‘Most of us would need constant reassurance, whereas she demonstrated none of these neuroses, which showed an admirable and surprising lack of vanity’ adding that she ‘scarcely even checking herself in the mirror afterwards’.

As would be expected in any high profile shoot the Vogue team kitted out the set with amenities to suit HRH including having broadband fitted – however, none of this was necessary as the editor comments that the Duchess did not check her phone once.

[From The Daily Mail]

Personally, I think this speaks to Kate’s lack of curiosity. This was her first time being photographed and aided by a team of professional fashion people. Instead of asking questions and showing an interest in what they were doing or even – gasp! – asking for advice, Kate was just stuck in her own little aristocratic fantasy. And the result was poorly lit photos of Kate’s scouse brows as she posed rather awkwardly. While I would have been awkward as hell if I was being photographed by a Vogue team, I would have asked so many questions! I would have asked them to do a running commentary on how they were applying makeup. There would have been a flurry of emails about the fashion choices ahead of time. I would have asked the photographer about how to pose and how to work with the camera. But that’s just me. Apparently I’m not as country-girl-aristo as Kate.

Photos courtesy of Josh Olin/British Vogue.