When the cultural fixation with Harry and Meghan reached its nadir — I think one can arguably assign this moment to either their untimely departure to the grand-old colony of Canada, or to that tiresome display of interviews, book releases and Netflix-sponsored tears — I found myself, during a rare day-job (relaxation) lull, tapping the words ‘most maligned women in history’ into Google. I did this more out of anger than sympathy — I knew there was a danger that the spin machine at Harvey Weinstein’s old publicists, whom she retained once in Tinseltown, might want to lead on this message.
Perhaps inevitably, Cleopatra was high on the list that topped Google’s results. The entry beneath her name referred to Roman writers portraying her “as a harlot who used her sexuality to control powerful men like Julius Caesar and Mark Antony”, before adding: “Rarely mentioned are her intelligence and excellent capability as a politician.” Plus ça change.
Scanning downwards, I learned that Catherine the Great “was an intelligent, powerful and skilled ruler” and a “patron of the arts and education”. Her crime? As the late-18th-century empress of Russia said herself, “The trouble is that my heart is loath to remain even one hour without love”. It sounded like a case of between-the-lines implications flashing in neon red. And Anne Boleyn? An, and the Swinging Sixties would have had about as much swing to them as a Bible belt sewing bee).
