A Commonwealth Princess? The instrumentalization of Meghan Markle’s race to construct her royal persona

Article

Carniel, Jessica. 2021. "A Commonwealth Princess? The instrumentalization of Meghan Markle’s race to construct her royal persona." Persona Studies. 7 (1), pp. 33-47. https://doi.org/10.21153/psj2021vol7no1art1459
Article Title

A Commonwealth Princess? The instrumentalization of Meghan Markle’s race to construct her royal persona

ERA Journal ID211198
Article CategoryArticle
Authors
AuthorCarniel, Jessica
Journal TitlePersona Studies
Journal Citation7 (1), pp. 33-47
Number of Pages15
Year2021
Place of PublicationAustralia
ISSN2205-5258
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.21153/psj2021vol7no1art1459
Web Address (URL)https://ojs.deakin.edu.au/index.php/ps/article/view/1459
Abstract

Prior to the Sussexes’ departure from their roles as senior royals, there was a significant attempt to construct for the Duchess of Sussex a specific royal persona that can be summarized as the 'Commonwealth Princess'. There were two main purposes to this persona. The first was to use both the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their popularity to leverage a more modern face to monarchy in the Commonwealth. The second purpose, stemming from this, was to maintain and strengthen contemporary relations with Commonwealth nations. Markle’s biracial identity was an important part of this strategy and persona as it became a means to connect to colonised people of colour.

KeywordsRace; Colonialism; Celebrity; Royal Persona; Persona studies; Celebrity studies; Commonwealth; Critical race theory
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020470208. Culture, representation and identity
449999. Other human society not elsewhere classified
470199. Communication and media studies not elsewhere classified
Byline AffiliationsUniversity of Southern Queensland
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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