Mothers of future kings: the Madonna redux phenomenon.

This article investigates how images of Diana, Princess of Wales partake in Victorian constructions of femininity that uphold the sacred cult of motherhood. Such images are staged affairs, constructed and performed as part of a princess' main responsibilities as a dutiful and loving mother. A comparison of Diana and Alexandra, Princess of Wales will demonstrate how Diana's mothering function is constructed. Her sexual being is denied because it is a sexuality that is out of sync with the essentially Victorian construction of woman as devoted wife and mother. This article addresses this cult of...