Take for example this month’s Royal Tour Souvenir issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly.
Those of you who have happened upon the May issue at your local newsagent, or those of you who may have seen it online, will doubtless have an opinion on the cover. We know this, because many of you have taken the time to express that opinion on social media and in direct feedback to us here at Weekly HQ.
Some of you love it, some of you don’t. Some of you have very valid questions about why we chose the cover image we did. And because The Weekly belongs to you – and we, the editorial team, are but temporary custodians of this iconic title – we feel we owe you all an explanation.
So here is how we came to settle on the cover you see before you.
On Tuesday night last week, we were in the office until midnight, poring over the thousands of images generated by the royal visit. And while the proof sheets were copious, there were probably only 10 photos from the entire tour that were cover worthy.
For a cover image to work, the photograph needs to be sharp, it needs to be sufficiently hi-resolution – it needs to tick quite a few technical boxes. In order to create a connection between the subjects and the readers, it helps if the people being photographed are looking at the camera. More than that, the shots need to have an x-factor – in this instance, we wanted there to be a sense of warmth between Kate and Wills.
Why did we select the photo? For a few simple reasons.
William is the future King, he is standing in front of Uluru (easily one of the most iconic landmarks in our wide brown land), he and Kate look happy and relaxed (which was, after all, the hallmark of their entire tour) and the portrait is almost eerily reminiscent of a photo taken of Charles and Diana in the same spot thirty-one years ago.
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Princess Diana and Prince Charles during their 1983 visit to Uluru.
Yes, the Duchess of Cambridge is pushing hair behind her ears; yes, there are shadows at the Royal couple’s feet – but it is real. And if this Royal Tour is going to be remembered for any one thing, it is how accessible this remarkable young couple have made the House of Windsor.
For say what you like about the Royals, and think what you may about the monarchy – for a brief couple of weeks here in Australia, many of us were entranced by the young couple in love, who were in turn clearly in love with their toddler son and who in the most straitened of circumstances, moved so easily among us and brought so many so much joy.
We truly hope you enjoy this special Royal Tour Souvenir edition. Whether it’s for the cover image, the stunning 18-page Royal Tour picture special – or the pages and pages of other, non-Royal content. Because each month, we do our very best to please, impress or surprise as many of you as possible.
