[New post] Duchess Meghan and the New Multiculturalism of the House of Windsor

Danielle Jackson posted: " In an essay for the Guardian, writer and journalist Margo Jefferson considers how the new multiculturalism of the House of Windsor has refreshed the royal house's relevancy and appeal. Markle majored in international relations and theatre at Northw" New post on Longreads Duchess Meghan and the New Multiculturalism of the House of Windsor by Danielle Jackson In an essay for the Guardian, writer and journalist Margo Jefferson considers how the new multiculturalism of the House of Windsor has refreshed the royal house's relevancy and appeal. Markle majored in international relations and theatre at Northwestern University, Illinois. Besides becoming an actor, she became a feminist who worked for UN Women as an advocate for political participation and leadership. Yes, she has been praised and criticised as "outspoken", but her style never risks being "aggressive" or "combative", or any of the other words thrown at women who are deemed insufficiently graceful when they disagree with men. Even when she makes staunch political statements, her manner astutely -- sometimes cloyingly -- balances the forthright and the pleasing. She's learned to use political maxims and assertions very effectively. As in: "It's time to focus less on glass slippers and more on glass ceilings." With the word "fairytale" now a ubiquitous tag line for the royal romance, this should be a useful daily mantra. The Cinderella story refuses to dwindle into a period piece; in the last 20 years alone there have been six film remakes with white, black and Latina leads. But Markle has not been plucked from poverty or -- like the heroines of such romcom adaptations as Pretty Woman and Maid in Manhattan – from the low-status toil and trouble of working-class life. Her net worth as an actor has been estimated at around $5m. An actor's fortunes can fluctuate, especially when that actor is a woman. But so can the fortunes of a wife. If the royal marriage were to end in divorce, Markle would not have to depend on the Windsor millions nor, like many once-upon-a-time celebrities, design a skincare or jewellery line for QVC. Love that results in the bride's near magical social ascent is the key element in Cinderella tales. But is Markle automatically marrying up by marrying a prince? In the old school way, yes: any "commoner" who marries into any royal family is seen as marrying up. But Harry is marrying up too. He's marrying up by marrying out -- out of long-entwined bloodlines, out of entrenched rituals and hierarchies, out of a lineage as constricted as it is privileged. We always ascribe social ambitions to commoners, but aristocrats have their own longings for a world elsewhere. Harry is marrying into all the possibilities of postmodernity. It's a world where -- as Zora Neale Hurston said of black folktales and music -- hierarchies, styles, sites of social and cultural change are being made and forgotten every day. Read the story Danielle Jackson | May 21, 2018 at 4:00 pm | Tags: House of Windsor, Meghan Markle, mixed race, race, royal family, royal wedding, United Kingdom | Categories: Arts & Culture, culture, Current Events, Editor's Pick, Highlight, Quotes | URL: https://wp.me/p4KhvY-s1J Like Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from Longreads. Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://longreads.com/2018/05/21/duchess-meghan-and-the-new-multiculturalism-of-the-house-of-windsor/ Thanks for flying with WordPress.com