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Meghan Markle, the second pregnancy
The historian Priya Atwal revealed, via a long Twitter post, the bewildering parallels between Meghan Markle and Queen Victoria’s adopted daughter, the Princess Gouramma of Coorg. The post was published following the shocking confessions of the Duchess of Sussex ad Oprah Winfrey. Meghan said she had thought several times about suicide, in the period of her first pregnancy, due to the pressures suffered by the royal family. Markle’s personal story evokes another little-known story of a woman who, like her, paid dearly for her entrance to the Palace.
Princess Gouramma was brought to Britain in 1852, by her father Rajah, and was adopted by Queen Victory, addressing real life and the public opinion of the time. The scholar has defined misleading the shared idea that Meghan is the first black person in the royal family, revealing the similarities with the princess of Coorg.
Priya explains that the Rajahs fought to regain family wealth from the East India Company and asked Queen Victoria to adopt the princess, mistakenly believing that the ruler could have guaranteed her a better life.
Queen Victoria brought several young royals to the palace as her godchildren; in fact, according to Atwal, her intention was to get to know the new territories and give one good image of the royal family. Although the queen was the guardian of Gouramma, the latter went through difficult times, due to the royals who wanted to “anglicize” her and who did not protect her from the intrusiveness of the press.
Vittoria also forbade the princess any relationship with her family of origin. Gouramma tried several times to escape to free himself from the control exercised by the royal family over his life. Like Meghan, the Coorg princess wanted to assert her own right to privacy and be independent but his legitimate desire for freedom at the Palazzo was attributed to his “innate oriental weakness”.
The story of the Princess of Coorg is, to use Priya’s words,“Incredibly sad”: a girl who probably felt lost and confused was misunderstood and opposed by the adults who were supposed to take care of her. Gouramma eventually married and had a daughter but, of poor health, died at the age of 23.
What Atwal wants to underline, comparing the two events, is how the royal family treats new royal figures and how it affects their lives.
The incendiary statements by Harry and Meghan to CBS exposed a truth that caused “horror and awe” at Buckingam Palace and triggered a series of reactions, bringing to light reflections and forgotten stories, such as that of the Princess of Coorg.
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