Marrying a prince is often shorthand for social salvation in many a fairytale.
The lowly, albeit beautiful, servant girl is rescued from a life of poverty and trial when she catches the eye of a prince. Henceforth, they enjoy a life of luxury, ease and – one would hope – love. At first blush, our culture may appear to have rid itself of these stories for their old-fashioned gender roles (the woman tends to be reduced to a passive cipher whose life only becomes meaningful when the prince enters).
Yet many reactions on social media to the engagement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle – including images of melodramatic tears with captions like ‘Me when I find out Prince Harry is engaged, but not to me’ – suggest otherwise. These reactions hint that the younger royals are seen more as heartthrobs than authority-figures, and that there is still a special connection between princes and happily-ever-afters in our minds.
