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This is from a New York Times article :

The ghost of Diana gone rogue animates the fractured fairy tale of Meghan and Harry, and their intemperate attempt to upend centuries of starchy rules and break away from the Firm.

I looked up the adjective 'rogue' in the Merriam-Webster dictionary :

1 : resembling or suggesting a rogue elephant especially in being isolated, aberrant, dangerous, or uncontrollable

3 : of or being a nation whose leaders defy international law or norms of international behavior rogue states

I am curious which of the following "gone rogue" means in this context.

  1. seen as rebelling against the established norms and expectations of the royal family

  2. passed away in a state of isolation from the royal family

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    From that small quote, it's not possible to tell what the writer means. It could literally mean that the narrator character is the ghost of Princess Diana rebelling against the Royal Family, or it could mean that the style of the narrator resembles Diana, but is not following the norms of the Royal Family.
    – gotube ♦
    Commented May 25, 2023 at 6:13
  • @gotube Thank you very much. You mean "gone" does not mean 'dead'. Right?
    – user157844
    Commented May 25, 2023 at 6:26
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    It definitely does not mean "dead". A ghost is already dead. It means "turned" or "become".
    – gotube ♦
    Commented May 25, 2023 at 6:29
  • @gotube Thank you very much. Since I feel like I have obtained the answer I wanted completely from you, is it okay for me to delete this question?
    – user157844
    Commented May 25, 2023 at 6:33
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    No, ellse, we only delete questions that don't belong on this site because they're spam or very rude. Good questions with satisfactory answers stay here forever so that other people can read them later and benefit. I'll put my comments as an answer, and if you like, you can give them an upvote and/or check mark. That's the normal way to resolve a good question.
    – gotube ♦
    Commented May 25, 2023 at 16:42

2 Answers 2

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From that small quote, it's not possible to tell what the writer means. It could literally mean that the narrator character is the ghost of Princess Diana rebelling against the Royal Family, or it could mean that the style of the narrator resembles Diana, but is not following the norms of the Royal Family.

Regardless, "gone" definitely does not mean "dead". A ghost is already dead. It means "turned" or "become".

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    What author? The reporting/er author or the creator of the animation? I personally think it is very clear. It's the ghost who is being described as going rogue.
    – Lambie
    Commented May 25, 2023 at 18:24
  • Thank you very much.
    – user157844
    Commented May 25, 2023 at 22:19
  • @Lambie Sorry? I didn't say anything about the author. If the ghost of Diana is the actual narrator in the story, I don't know that because the article is behind a paywall. I'm allowing for the possibility that "the ghost of Diana gone rogue" metaphorically describes the narrative style.
    – gotube ♦
    Commented May 26, 2023 at 19:27
  • Sorry, I meant writer.
    – Lambie
    Commented May 26, 2023 at 19:48
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"The ghost of Diana has gone rogue."

Go rogue is an idiom which means a person is operating outside the official capacity he or she is supposed to be operating in. It is a term used by spies to mean they are no longer doing their jobs but have started acting outside the boundaries of those jobs.

Here, it is Diana's ghost, used by the author of this piece on the animation, which is the representation of the princess that has gone rogue. Basically, the ghost is doing stuff that was not in the purview of the real princess.

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  • Thank you very much.
    – user157844
    Commented May 25, 2023 at 22:21

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