Princesses

Princesses are women and girls of royal families. Some countries are headed by monarchs, rulers who inherited their titles and positions and hold various degrees of power and influence. The top rulers in a monarchy may be called kings and queens or known by another title like emperor and empress. A daughter born into a royal family can be bestowed with various titles. The title princess may be given to daughters, granddaughters, and other close female relatives of the monarch. A woman may also receive the title by marrying a prince, although customs vary among cultures and countries and regents may change the laws and rules at will. Notable princesses throughout history have included Diana, Princess of Wales; Princess Pingyang of China; Nefertiti of Egypt; and Elizabeth I of England. Fictional princesses are common in fairy tales and are popular in entertainment such as movies.

Many modern-day princesses are associated with charitable causes. For instance, Princess Madeleine of Sweden is involved in the World Childhood Foundation, which works to protect children from violence and sexual abuse. England’s Catherine, Princess of Wales, has focused on supporting the mental wellbeing of young children and promoting the arts among other issues. These efforts on behalf of charitable causes are often held up as examples of the value of princesses as role models.

Background

Princess is a title frequently given to a female child or grandchild of a monarch. Additionally, a woman may become a princess when she marries a prince. In Britain, use of titles was often inconsistent and varied because of custom or practice, so many women and girls who were blood relatives of a monarch might have been called lady or some other title. A new title was added when Mary Henrietta, daughter of Charles I of England, was declared Princess Royal in 1642. This title was given to her because her mother, who was French, wished to adopt the French practice of bestowing the special distinction to a king’s eldest daughter. After King George I took the throne in 1714, usage of the title princess became more common. In 1917, King George V formalized the usage of this and many other titles. He decreed that daughters of the monarch and women who marry a prince could be called princess. For instance, when Lady Diana Spencer married Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, in 1981, she became Diana, Princess of Wales. This title was created in 1301 when the eldest son of the king of England was made Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester. The title of Princess of Wales was thus conferred on the wives of heirs to the throne.

Even after King George V issued Letters Patent to limit who could use the title princess, the regent retained the right to bestow this and other titles at will. For example, only the first son of the oldest son of the Prince of Wales was entitled to be called prince until Queen Elizabeth II changed this in 2012. As of 2024, only six women in the British royal family were in the line of accession and thus permitted to use the title princess: Princess Anne (the Princess Royal), daughter of Queen Elizabeth II; Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, daughter of William, Prince of Wales; Princess Lilibet of Sussex, daughter of Harry, Duke of Sussex, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, daughters of Prince Andrew; and Lady Louise Windsor, daughter of Prince Edward. Women who married princes of the family were technically princesses but were not permitted to use the title with their names. For example, when American actress Meghan Markle married a grandson of the then queen, Prince Harry, in 2018, she became Princess Henry of Wales (women who marry princes use their husbands’ names in the title), but not Princess Meghan.

Princesses Throughout History

Many countries have been ruled by royal families, and thus, have a history of princesses. This includes England, France, Spain, Sweden, Egypt, Nigeria, Burundi, India, Japan, and China. Many princesses throughout the world have made their mark in history.

In some cultures, princesses have achieved near mythological status. For example, Nefertiti is believed to have been a princess from Mitanni, in modern Syria, or a member of the royal family of ancient Egypt. She married Pharaoh Amenhotep IV at the age of fifteen and began her rule as queen around 1353 BCE. She and her husband founded the Aten cult, which dictated that the sun god was the only Egyptian deity worthy of worship. She is believed to have been worshiped as a living fertility goddess. Nefertiti is best known for her painted sandstone bust, which was rediscovered in 1913. The relic thrust Nefertiti into the global spotlight, making her an icon of feminine beauty and power.

Some princesses have been military and political heroes. For example, Pingyang was born in China in 598 CE. When her father, General Li Yuan, led a rebellion against Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, twenty-year-old Pingyang and her husband fled in opposite directions to avoid being killed for treason. Pingyang sold her belongings and used the money to feed the peasants and buy them military armor and equipment. She trained a group of peasants, who joined forces with neighboring armies. The force of more than seventy thousand soldiers, which was called the Army of the Lady, helped Pingyang’s father defeat the Sui army. He was the first emperor of the Tang Dynasty and she its first princess. She is the only Chinese woman ever to have been honored with an imperial military funeral. The United Kingdom (UK) has also had its share of warrior princesses who went on to lead their people. Elizabeth I, for example, was third in line to the throne after the death of her father, King Henry VIII. Both her elder brother and sister succeeded their father as monarch, and Elizabeth’s survival was in doubt during their reigns. However, she outlived them to become queen at the age of twenty-five and went on to greatly expand and enrich the British Empire. In the early twelfth century in what is northern Ghana, King Nedega ruled the Dagomaba Kingdom. His daughter, Yennenga, trained to be a warrior from her youth and outshone her brothers in many areas such as riding horses. As an adult, she led her own battalion. Her father valued her leadership so highly that he refused to permit her to marry, so she escaped the kingdom and found her own future.

Some princesses have fared badly, notably when they were perceived as uncaring. For example, Marie Antoinette, an Austrian princess who married French King Louis XVI, became known for excess and a disregard for the suffering of the peasantry. She was born in Vienna in 1755 to Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa. She arrived at the French Court in 1770 at fifteen years of age for a planned marriage to the heir to the throne. This arrangement was part of a strategy toward reconciliation between France and Austria. She was still a teenager when she became queen in 1775, and her husband allowed her to take on a role in court that had never been given to other queens. She enjoyed entertainment and balls and supported the arts. As queen, she committed blunders that soured public opinion. She was imprisoned in August 1792 during the French Revolution and was executed in October 1793.

In some cases, princesses have been among the most popular members of their cultures. For instance, Lady Diana Spencer became Diana, Princess of Wales, when she married England’s Prince Charles in 1981. She is perhaps one of the most well-known princesses in modern history. She was popular with the media and used her platform to fight for a number of causes including spreading HIV/AIDS awareness, helping the homeless, outlawing land mines, and lending a hand to disadvantaged children. She was commonly called “the people’s princess” because she frequently interacted with the public and was more popular than other members of the royal family, including her husband, the heir to the throne. After divorcing Charles in 1996, she continued her philanthropy until her death the following year. She was the mother of William, Prince of Wales, heir to the throne, and Prince Harry.

Overview

The role of princess is often controversial in large part because the title is attained either through birth or marriage rather than for achievements. Some believe that fairy tales about princesses promote the idea that women and girls are valued for their beauty or social status. Many say that holding women to a higher standard simply because of a title is harmful and princesses should not be viewed as role models. Diana, Princess of Wales, was hailed as a breaker of the mold for royals in the UK. She supported the International Campaign to Ban Landmines by drawing attention to the many individuals, including many children, permanently disabled by the explosive devices. She visited patients with HIV/AIDS at a time when they were stigmatized and many people feared them and the virus. Diana cradled babies who were HIV-AIDS positive. The Diana Award, an international honor, was created to recognize young women who served others and made lasting and positive change locally and globally. Long after her death, Diana, Princess of Wales, continues to have an impact.

Debate about the value of princesses extends to fictional characters as well. Many parents, for example, want their daughters to emulate strong figures and view princesses, whose roles in tales often consist of waiting for rescue, as weak and passive. However, a great deal of analysis has been undertaken and some parenting experts believe princesses can be good role models. Notable traits that experts and parents admire include bravery, cleverness, intelligence, kindness, curiosity, determination, independence, resourcefulness, adventurousness, athleticism, optimism, confidence, and enthusiasm.

In modern times, many countries still have monarchies, although their power is often largely symbolic. For example, the British monarchy is a constitutional monarchy. This means the king or queen is the head of state. However, the elected body, Parliament, has the power to make laws. The Crown, as the head of state is known, has very limited power. The monarch opens and dissolves Parliament and approves bills before they become law. A new Princess of Wales emerged in September 2022 upon the death of Queen Elizabeth II. King Charles III, son of the late monarch, officially named his daughter-in-law, the former Kate Middleton, Catherine, the Princess of Wales, on September 9, 2022. She was the first person to hold the title since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Catherine married then Prince William in 2011. As a member of the royal family, she dedicated herself to a variety of charitable and military foundations.

Sweden is also a constitutional and hereditary monarchy and has a parliamentary system. Like the United Kingdom, the system has favored male heirs. The first-born child of King Carl XVI Gustav and Queen Silvia is Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, who was born in 1977 in Stockholm. Her younger brother, Prince Carl Philip Edmund Bertil, became the heir to the throne when he was born in 1979. However, Sweden made a change to its constitution the following year that gave precedence to the monarch’s oldest child, male or female. This officially made Victoria the crown princess and heir to the throne. She worked for the United Nations in New York City and the Swedish Embassy in Washington, DC. She has held several roles within the Swedish government and completed military basic training at the Swedish Armed Forces International Centre.

Princesses in Popular Culture

Princesses are a favorite topic of popular culture. Among these are novels, films, and television series. Chief among these are the princesses of Walt Disney Company animated films. These include Princess Jasmine of the fictional city of Agrabah in Disney’s 1992 film Aladdin; Snow White, Disney’s first princess who debuted in the 1937 film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; and Princess Tiana, the first Black animated princess in Disney history, who was introduced in the 2009 film The Princess and the Frog. Dreamworks Animation, another giant in the animated films industry, created a princess who did not fit the mold of a damsel in distress. Princess Fiona, introduced in 2001 in the first installment of the Shrek franchise, is well versed in martial arts and easily dispatches attackers.

Other princesses in popular culture include live features such as the 2001 Disney film The Princess Diaries and its 2004 sequel and the 1987 film The Princess Bride, which has been a fan favorite for decades.

Bibliography

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