Princess Seraphina, who is thought to be Britain’s first recorded drag queen, emerged in the 18th century after she bravely brought a case against a man who threatened and robbed her in 1732. Also known as John Cooper, Seraphina was widely known throughout gay Georgian London as a so-called ‘Molly messenger’ who would set up meetings between the hidden upper-class queer men. 

One night, she went to a pub where she was chatted up by a man called Thomas Gordon. After the pub, the two of them left together, Gordon promising to show Cooper something.

On that walk, Gordon shoved Princess Seraphina to the ground and forced her to switch clothes with him at knifepoint. Gordon then threatened to accuse her of sodomy if she were to report the crime.

Though sodomy was punishable by death at the time, Princess Seraphina rose above the fear of prosecution and brought Gordon to court. In the trial, multiple witnesses took the stand to attest to her credibility, character, and to back up her claims against Gordon.

Like many events in history, there are different retellings of the trial. One is more positive, speaking to the accepting nature of the community Princess Seraphina lived in.

The positive retelling goes as follows: Throughout the trial, it was clear that the witnesses and jury respected her identity, referring to her by her drag persona and using she/her pronouns, according to Sky History. Along with this, many within the community offered their testimonies to her good character.

Most people within the area liked Princess Seraphina. The only person who didn’t was her cousin, who reportedly did not want to be involved with her lifestyle.

The other retelling of the events states that while many in the community did like her, they revealed to the court that she was either a drag queen or a trans woman. With Princess Seraphina outed to the court, Gordon brought up his accusations of sodomy to the judge. Fortunately for Princess Seraphina, she was never put on trial. 

However, Vaux Hall History reports that the charges against Gordon were also acquitted, after a witness described him as an honest, hardworking man. 

No matter how the trial unfolded, it is still remarkable that Princess Seraphina went against Gordon at a time when it was not safe to do so, and her legacy as the first drag queen in Britain earned her a rightful spot in queer history.