Princess Essex, a new play by Anne Odeke, seeks to challenge traditional historical narratives of Edwardian Britain, which typically do not feature people of colour. Based on the true story of Princess Dinubolu of Senegal, who was the first woman of colour to enter a British beauty pageant, this re-interpretation brings to the forefront the presence of Black people in Edwardian Britain. At the time, the event caused a public frenzy and media storm, with news coverage of the event extending as far as Marlborough, New Zealand. Despite this, there is little public knowledge of this story in contemporary society. The account of the princess was told only recently; it featured in Elsa James’ Forgotten Black Essex exhibition in 2018, and a blue plaque was erected to commemorate the Princess by the Essex Women’s Commemoration project last March. The Globe takes this piece of history to new heights by giving visitors from all around the world the opportunity to encounter a story that they may have never experienced before.  

Amidst the extraordinary nature of the events in the play, Odeke selects a more ordinary narrative for the princess to showcase the reality that was Black presence in Edwardian society. The exact details of Princess Dinubolu’s background are unknown. Some theories purport that she was indeed a real princess, others that she was misrepresenting herself as African royalty; thirdly and most distinctly, that she was a local Black British woman whose entry to the contest presented a profitable marketing opportunity for the Kursaal. Odeke’s decision to go with the latter perspective roots this satirical play in a very real – and very profound – lived experience. British people of African birth or descent could be found in every social group and walks of life during the Edwardian period. The Black middle classes in particular from this period were most visible, as well as those who were recruited across the world for colonial troops. Local records can be found in community archive services around the UK. For instance, Haringey Council holds material related to some notable figures such as physician, Dr Ernest Goffe who came to London in 1889 to study medicine, as well as professional footballer and later soldier, Walter Tull (1888–1918).

Princess Essex highlights the changing social conditions of Britain at the time. Joanna, the character Odeke creates behind the historical princess, as well as the real Princess Dinubolu, sought to challenge stereotypes, and to create social change. The action follows her fight to take part in the pageant in the face of resistance by English society – as one (white, middle-class) character snarkily comments, ‘international does NOT mean negro’. The princess was part of a changing political landscape in Britain, where Black Edwardians organised politically in order to challenge colour bars. Groups such as the League of Coloured Peoples and the Pan African movement both organised in order to achieve equality for people of African descent.  A desire to fight against the giant structures of empire and imperialism is present in the protagonist’s actions, as she boldly declares ‘Kursaal, Essex, Empire – I’m coming for ya’. Similarly, the real Princess Dinubolu wanted to prove that a woman of colour had a valid right to compete in the contest. Throughout the Edwardian period, the British Empire held immense power and cruelly subjugated people throughout Africa and Asia to imperial control. Thus the princess, wherever she was really from, represented a truly brave act of defiance against structures of racial prejudice.

Reference to past events in Black British history in the play also give insight into the social conditions at the time. Notably, the victory of a Black baby in a local contest two years earlier is mentioned. The inclusion of this in the narrative reveals the existent lineage of Black history in Britain during this particular era. This theme of temporal lending is present throughout the play, where, for example, Joanna passes the crown to a little local Black girl. The girl returns the crown to her in an act of reciprocation, representing community building within ethnic minority communities in Britain.

This story is just the tip of the iceberg of unknown stories present in our national history. The gaps in the real account that so kindly gave Odeke relative creative freedom, such as the uncertainty of the princess’ exact origin, the lack of records pertaining to Dinubolu and her sudden disappearance immediately after the competition, reveal an underlying commitment to a story of exclusively white Britishness amongst national narrators. Bringing this story to the Globe is trailblazing in bringing hidden histories to a mass audience, and should pave the way for many more.

Ilham Ali is a member of the Young Historians Project, a UK–based collective which promotes the scholarship and popular understanding of Black history. YHP encourages the development of young people of African and Caribbean heritage into historians, researchers, editors, public speakers, creatives, and more.

Princess Essex plays in the Globe Theatre until 26 October. 

FINIS.