Kate Middleton lands a magazine cover without even trying! (Er, because it’s a fake)

If it were real, we’d be quite offended that Kate Middleton chose a magazine other than ours for her cover debut. But thankfully, the August issue of Marie Claire South Africa is a clever (though not particularly flattering) illustation. To its credit, the magazine is quite tongue-in-cheek about the whole thing, calling it a “Fan Art Tribute” with an added disclaimer that Kate’s not actually wearing a South African designer—but they wish she would consider doing so. (If you’re curious, the printed dress is by Clive Rundle, and given how different it is from Kate’s usual style we’re unsure if she’ll be calling him up to place an order.)

While we’d like to file this under “you’ve now totally blown any chance of having exclusive access to the Duchess,” anyone with even minor knowledge of royal protocol knows that the odds of Kate ever posing for a magazine shoot is beyond highly unlikely. And given Marie Claire‘s timing—releasing the cover just days after Woman’s Day Australia published leaked paparazzi photos from Will and Kate’s honeymoon—we suspect St. James’s Palace is more concerned with finding a way to punish those responsible for the latter. Meaning: more cringe-inducing cover copycats are sure to follow!

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