The 30-year-old is now the February/March cover girl on the publication, a fitting choice after she performed some private volunteer work with the scouts.
"Part of her role as volunteer is to help below the radar," says a source of Kate's work with girl and boy scouts and their younger counterparts, the Beavers.
Kate Middleton
The scouts hope the duchess will help Kate Middleton run a variety of activities relevant to her skills and interests, and she's likely to be popping into some groups' regular meetings near her home on Anglesey, North Wales, and elsewhere.
Inside the magazine, adventurer-broadcaster Bear Grylls pays tribute to Kate: "It is how we change our society, many people doing a little bit," he says.
The scouts are one of five charities she chose to patronize in her royal role. Kate is set to start officially touring some of them next month.
She and husband Prince William are due back from vacation in Mustique soon. William then heads to the Falkland Islands for military duty next month.