FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss Prince Harry, Meghan Markle’s Decision to Step Back from Royal Duties

 

New Brunswick, N.J. (Jan. 9, 2020) – Rutgers scholar Alastair Bellany , an expert in British media and politics, is available to discuss Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s announcement regarding their roles as senior members of the British royal family.

 

“Harry and Megan’s decision throws a wrench into a pattern that had evolved over the past decade in which princes William and Harry were pushed to the forefront as symbols of a revived and ‘modern’ monarchy, ready for the new century. It exposes contradictions at the heart of that image: The very modern idea of self-determination and independence doesn’t fit with the rigid role assigned to members of the royal family. The 20th century history of the monarchy is a story of these contradictions as the institution tried to reinvent itself well past its political sell-by date. The decision also complicates whatever planning is in place for challenges the queen’s aging poses to the monarchy: her death, when it comes, will force a major reckoning,” Bellany said.

 

Bellany is a professor and chair in the Department of History at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, and an expert in media and popular politics of early modern England.

 

He can be reached via email at [email protected].

 

###

 

Broadcast interviews: Rutgers University–New Brunswick has broadcast-quality TV and radio studios available for remote live or taped interviews with Rutgers experts. For more information, contact Cynthia Medina [email protected]

 

ABOUT RUTGERS—NEW BRUNSWICK

Rutgers University–New Brunswick is where Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, began more than 250 years ago. Ranked among the world’s top 60 universities, Rutgers’s flagship university is a leading public research institution and a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. It is home to internationally acclaimed faculty and has 12 degree-granting schools and a Division I Athletics program. It is the Big Ten Conference’s most diverse university. Through its community of teachers, scholars, artists, scientists, and healers, Rutgers is equipped as never before to transform lives.