Queenship and Suppression: Gender and Power in “Queen Charlotte”

This paper focuses on power, authority, and control over gender in Julia Quinn’s “Queen Charlotte” published in the year 2023, through the author’s simple yet powerful words, the Queen of Great Britian must play the role of a sister, wife, and the most difficult of all Queen where the events are “not a history lesson but are inspired by facts”. Though being described as “brown” in this novel, the character strives to fly high and fights for and with her husband to showcase who she really is. Being reluctant at first, Charlotte questions her ability being a suitable bride or even worse the queen. Being persuaded by her brother, where the “deal” was made, the future queen ends up meeting her husband minutes before her wedding. The book being in third person omniscient narration, the readers get to see a whole new perspective of each character which provides deep understanding of the text where their inner struggles, opinion on any situation and their capacity to react has been delivered on point. To further note that at some point in the novel, either one of the female characters would have faced a torment in forcing to have a child and this case, when queen Charlotte, being unaware of “consummate” in marriage life showcases how women were put in “the great experiment” and are forced to have a legal heir which in this case a male heir. This analysis showcases ideas relevant to the topics on gender, power, and oppression.

Keywords: British Monarchy, Influence of the title, Cultural Influence, Male dominance.