I think we can pretty much conclude that being a princess is not all it's cracked up to be. It used to be that you turned your pumpkin into a crystal carriage and departed into the sunset with your prince and a tiara. Your life became a glowing reflection of goodness and a type of femalehood that other women and little girls aspired to. I mean, who doesn’t want to live in a palace?

Not so much anymore — if the troubles besetting latter-day princesses are anything to go by. Diana met with her fate in a terrible tunnel after years of trying to escape. Meghan decamped to Hollywood, where she knows the rules and can play by them: note her latest manifestation on Ellen’s show, where “relatable” takes on a whole new cast. The Japanese princess Mako just dropped her title and her royal privilege to  move to New York with her “commoner” husband, running away from imperial patronage like her life depended on it...