ABSTRACT
In the discussion of desire and denial, there was a theme which kept rising to the surface, bobbing along for a few moments, and then sinking from view. This was the theme of gender. If the notion of ‘family’ is integral to the phenomenon of modern royalty, then so must be gender. This much is contained in an anthropological point, made many years ago by Lévi-Strauss. In his famous essay on the family, Lévi-Strauss (1985) argued that all known family structures involve gendered divisions of labour. Thus, an interest in a royal family cannot but be an interest in a highly gendered phenomenon. However, what has bobbed to the surface has been more than this. The interest itself might be gendered, with women being said to be especially concerned with royal matters.
