At that time golf and racing served as its main content, as well as the property coverage, initially of manorial estates, which is still such a large part of the magazine. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the late Queen Mother, used to appear frequently on its front cover. Now the magazine covers a range of subjects, from gardens and gardening to country house architecture, art and books, and property to rural issues, luxury products and interiors.
In 1997, the centenary of the magazine was celebrated by a special issue, the publishing of a book by Roy Strong, the broadcast of a BBC2 TV programme on a year in the life of the magazine, and staging a Gold Medal-winning garden at the Chelsea Flower Show. In 1999, the magazine launched a new website.
In 2007, the magazine celebrated its 110th anniversary with a special souvenir issue on 4 January.[6] Since May 2008 the magazine has been issued each Wednesday, having been on sale each Thursday for the past 111 years.
Harry B. Neilson's Mr Fox's Hunt Breakfast on Xmas Day (1897) appeared on the cover of Country Life in December 1997
The first several dozen pages of each issue are devoted to colour advertisements for upmarket residential property
The magazine covers various aspects of rural life. It is primarily concerned with rural communities and their environments as well as the concerns of country dwellers and landowners and has a diverse readership which, although mainly UK based is also international.
Recent feature articles have included Charles, Prince of Wales guest-editing an issue of Country Life in 2013, a historic revelation which revealed the true face of Shakespeare for the first time in 2015, and in 2016 an exclusive on where the Great Fire of London began in 1666. There was a special commemorative issue in June 2016 on the occasion of the Queen's 90th birthday.
BBC documentary
In March 2016, Country Life was featured in a three-part documentary series produced by Spun Gold which aired on BBC2 called Land of Hope and Glory, British Country Life.
(earlier versions cited Fred Whitsey as a gardens editor, but he was a distinguished contributor only,
being in fact the Editor of sister publication Popular Gardening)
Fifty Years of Country Life, by Bernard Darwin, Country Life, 1947 (94 pages, on the first 50 year's history of the magazine).
An Everyday Story of Country Life, BBC2, 1997, being a TV documentary filmed over a one-year period in 1996 at the magazine, to celebrate its centenary.
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