Peggielene Bartels is an unlikely king, says Eleanor Herman in The Washington Post. A Ghanaian immigrant who came to the U.S. in 1979, she is a secretary who lives alone in a one-bedroom condo in Silver Spring, Md. But she was recently chosen by tribal elders to rule the village of Otuam, Ghana, after her uncle, the previous king, died at the age of 90. Bartels now splits her time between Silver Spring and Otuam, where she reigns over some 7,000 subjects and lives in an eight-bedroom royal palace. “Sometimes I think they wanted me to be king because I’m a woman, and they think I will be weak, and I live far away, so I won’t be watching most of the time,” Bartels says.
But contrary to expectations, Bartels has been quick to establish her authority. She’s already dismissed several tribal council members for stealing fees, and villagers are impressed with her literacy and worldliness. Bartels plans to install computers in Otuam’s schools and dig new wells in the village, paying for them with her own money. “Late in life, God gave me many children,” says Bartels. “Now I have 7,000 of them, and I must raise them up the best I can.”
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