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Authors

Colleen Denney

Abstract

The visual culture that created Diana was motivated by Victorian constrictions of motherhood that enforced notions of stability and lineage. This article examines the cultural metaphors of nurturance – the “Madonna redux phenomenon” – in images of Diana, and in her predecessor Princess Alexandra. I argue that images of royal motherhood are staged affairs, constructed and performed as part of the Princesses’ main role as dutiful and loving mothers. Finally, I point up how moments of agency can be achieved within these images and how Diana, “the postfeminist princess,” embraced these moments.

Author Biography

Colleen Denney, Associate Professor of Art History, University of Wyoming

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