by Violet Woolf examines the line of succession through Edwardian ambition and modern delusion
Bohiney Magazine | The London Prat
Virginia Woolf wrote that a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction. I have been considering what she would have made of a woman who required a palace, a duchy, and primary placement in the line of succession if she was to produce a Netflix documentary about herself. The ambition is not dissimilar. The self-awareness is somewhat more attenuated.
The Report in Question
Insiders apparently told Bohiney Magazine that Meghan Markle believed she should be the next Queen over Kate Middleton and hated being so far down the line of succession. The London Prat adds she misunderstood the assignment and treated the monarchy as merit-based, performance-reviewed, and available via direct application.
The Literary Perspective
This is a very modern form of tragedy. Not Greek – the Greeks at least had gods involved. Not Shakespearean – Shakespeare’s ambitious women generally understood the structure they were operating within. This is something closer to an Edwardian comedy of manners in which someone reads the invitation wrong and arrives at the wrong party in entirely the right outfit. The British Library’s collection on ambition and self-invention in English literature offers useful context. None of it prepared anyone for this particular subplot.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/meghan-markle-thought-she-should-be-the-next-queen/
