I believe the protagonist in this play is the trio of characters Masham, Abigail, and Bolingbroke. The most protagonist character, in my opinion, is Abigail. She seems the most innocent and pure and really does the least wrong of any characters throughout the entire play. The only wrong she has done is lie to the Queen about the trio's intentions. Masham is the second most noble of the trio. Though his pride gets in the way and is part of the reason he kills Bolingbroke's cousin. Bolingbroke seems to have the least noble of intentions in furthering Masham and Abigail's careers in the palace. But his redeeming quality is that one of his intentions is to release the Duchess's pursuasive hold on the Queen.
Throughout the whole play, there is a struggle between the alliance and the forces that try to upset the goals of the alliance. The Dutchess is the main enemy of the trio. Every time she succeeds in setting the group back, I found myself rooting more and more for the alliance. But this struggle between the Dutchess and the alliance seems to be most central to the plot.
Up to the near end of the play, it seems as though the conflicts of the trio get the most stage time. As for who Scribe himself wants the audience to root for, I cannot say for I am not Eugene Scribe. I found myself however rooting for the relationship between Masham and Abigail. And subsequently, I found myself rooting for the alliance and their goals. The main goal of the alliance that I found was most prevalent was the goal to make the Queen more independent from the pursuasion of the Dutchess. However the idea of usurping governmental corruption is very interesting in me. But the goal that I related most to was to have Masham and Abigail be together. I pride myself in being a romantic so any form of true love finding its way speaks to me.
I kind of disagree with you about the order of who should be deemed most protagonist like out of Abigail, Masham, and Bolingbroke. Yes, I believe they are 3 characters that could very easily be considered the protagonist, and can find an decent argument for each of them in that regard. However, the reason as to who the protagonist is shouldn't have anything to do with who was the "best" person. The protagonist doesn't always have to be good. We constitute a protagonist by the one the story can't progress without, and the one who's objective is more important than any other character.
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