So, today, as I was considering writing a new story, I was looking up the purposes of illegitimate children. Illegitimate children in literature ( found in Victorian fiction mostly) are really interesting because they tend to be "outsiders" in a royal world (or rich world). They aren't just shunned from the family, but from society as well, even though their birth is really not their fault. If they weren't illegitimate in the family, they would've probably been just as royal and rich as the rest of the family members. So, of course, this bitterness typically makes them an antagonist or a character in need of resilience and honor, such as Mordred from some Arthurian legends. And though Hamlet is not illegitimate at all (or at least from what I know so far),  he still holds that weird gray area of not truly being in the place he deserves as the late King's son. And, pondering this, I started to think of other weird happenings in Hamlet, such as Hamlet not being king though he was next in line. Gertrude marries his uncle awfully quickly, and I immediately assumed that it wasn't because she loved him, but because she thought it was the greater good. In other words, I always thought she was protecting him. But then why not let him have power? Because of the fear he'll die like his father? Because she believes he is not ready? But then I noticed that Hamlet would be in central eye. People will look at him deeper and maybe even suspicious of if he deserves it, and maybe it's because he could be illegitimate. Gertrude could have possibly had him with another man, and claimed it to be her husband's baby, and made sure he wasn't on the throne because an illegitimate child on the throne is bad luck and can be omen for chaos. If anybody in that era had an illegitimate child and put them on the throne without permission from the Pope would be slaughtered in some way or another. So what if she was protecting Hamlet because of his birth, and believes that if he was on the throne then it would be revealed? It's a stretch of course, saying there is no good evidence in the play, but Gertrude is strict about keeping Hamlet out of the spotlight, despite his snarky attitude. She is constantly shushing him and pulling the court away from Hamlet's comments, including distracting her late husband's brother by marrying him.           Also, almost like Shakespeare is hinting at it, Hamlet always seemed to be anyways in the shadow's. Hamlet puts himself there because he knows he does not belong and believes he is better than the rest. Hamlet can't be a part of the family his mother made, and maybe that's because he biologically isn't linked to any of them but the mother.  Whether people see it this way or not, Hamlet is treated like the illegitimate child because he is pushed aside and is forced to stay away from the royal power that he is capable of possessing. He even in a way seems himself that way because he can't handle being a part of it, he feels like he doesn't belong, giving him the  trope of an illegitimate child.  So maybe he is.