It is on a very rare occasion that a magazine cover features a fresh new face, and thankfully someone who is lacking in newsstand presence graces British Harper’s Bazaar for April 2019. We’ve come to admire the magazine for being persistent with its quintessentially British vision, which most of the time works oh so wonderfully well (see the Cate Blanchett, Emily Blunt and Saoirse Ronan covers). This month sees actress Jenna Coleman making her debut as a Bazaar cover girl, receiving the full cover treatment throughout the shoot, which was captured around the majestic surroundings of Kensington Palace.

Shot by David Slijper and styled by Miranda Almond, Jenna gives us young Keira Knightley vibes in the two covers, wearing a floral Alexander McQueen number in the newsstand cover (below) and a show-stopping Emilia Wickstead gown in the subscriber alternative (after the jump).

Did the covers receive the all-important approval from our forum members? “I have no idea who is she, probably a local celeb, but glad a new face got the cover. And it’s a nice spring-like one,” admired Srdjan.

“Nice to see Sljiper back shooting for them,” added 8eight.

“I miss those times when covers were either conceptual or naive, but speaking to some theme or season just like this one. Simple and nice to look at. When people wanted to be just glamorous. Nowadays it is rare to get quietly elegant covers without something vulgar,” appreciated dontbeadrag.

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However, not everyone was impressed. “Very glad for Jenna and surprised that she had to wait this long for her first major cover. Pity it’s so uneventful for me. I find the dress really ugly (of course, it’s McQueen under Sarah Burton). But then they had to shoot it against a patterned backdrop. It’s just a bit of an eyesore. The yellow masthead almost disappears, and her hair and expression look blasé,” complained Benn98.

“It feels a bit like they were so excited to be allowed to shoot a cover inside Kensington Palace they completely overlooked the fact it isn’t actually very cover-worthy,” noted an underwhelmed honeycombchild.

Perickles wasn’t a fan of the surroundings either: “Too much wallpaper and tapestry!”

“What an insipid, generic cover,” Miss Dalloway called out.

Is it a hit or miss of a cover for British Harper’s Bazaar this month? See what else the issue has to offer and join the conversation here.

[ Next: All the April 2019 Magazine Covers We Loved and Hated ]