Palace Source: Queen Would "Not Be Amused" by a Kate Middleton Vogue Cover

Sources say Her Majesty would frown upon Kate appearing on the fashion magazine

If Kate Middleton really is thinking about "playing ball" with Vogue—as we're told—she may want to reconsider. 'Cause the queen would not be pleased.

"Kate is keenly conscious that while her new grandmother-in-law may not chide her for appearing on a Vogue cover," a palace source close to the swanky sitch tells us. "But she would definitely not be amused, and Her Majesty is a real genius at making people squirm with simply a look or a 'tut, tut.' "

How bloody intimidating! So what are the chances we'll see Kate get her cover girl on?

Not likely! Well, at least for now.

"Both William and Kate are free to be interviewed or photographed by whoever they choose," one senior royal aide told us. "They are a modern, progressive couple and I'm sure there will be lighter exchanges with the media in the future."

Just don't expect too many of those interviews to be glam-centric.

The palace aide dishes, "But both William and Kate feel it would be wrong for Kate to promote herself as a fashion or style icon. That's not what they are about and they take their royal duties far too seriously to, in one sense, trivialize them."

She is a style icon, whether she likes it or not.

And Kate's well versed in being photo ready too, or so says our royal spy: "Kate is as intuitive as Diana was in knowing what a horde of photographers need, often making a bee line for the nearest children or grabbing a shovel to dig some soil during what would have been an otherwise yawn-inducing tree-planting ceremony."

So what's the big friggin' deal then? Shouldn't the divine Duchess of Cambridge be able to use her princess-like status for something fabulous?

"To be brutally honest, a request to sit down with The Times, the BBC or one of the major American networks to discuss the monarchy in general is one thing," we're told by the palace aide. "For Kate to be photographed draped in the latest creation of a couture house to, knowingly or otherwise, self-promote her status as some sort of fashion horse is something quite different. I'd say Architectural Digest might have stood a better chance."

Hear that, Architectural Digest? Get on the phone—you've got a royal pad to peep!