'Princess' is the feminine form of
prince (from
Latin ''
princeps'', meaning citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or her daughters, women whose station in life depended on their relationship to a prince and who could be disowned and stripped of the title if he so chose.
For many centuries, the title "princess" was not regularly used for a monarch's daughter, who might simply be called "Lady" or a non-English equivalent;
Old English had no female equivalent to "prince", "earl", or any royal or noble aside from the queen, and the women of nobility were thus known as ladies.
As women have slowly gained more autonomy through European history, the title of princess has become simply the female counterpart of prince and does not necessarily imply being controlled or owned by a prince. In some cases then, a princess is the female hereditary
head of state of a province or other significant area in her own right. The ancient meaning applies in Europe still to the extent that a female
commoner who marries a prince will almost always become a princess, but a male commoner who marries a princess will almost never become a prince, unless his wife has, or is expected to attain, a higher title, such as Queen regnant. The implication is that if the man held the equivalent masculine title, he would have rank over his wife without the necessary
pedigree.
In many of Europe's royal families, a
king would grant his heirs actual or theoretical principalities to train them for future kingship or to give them social rank. This practice has led over time to many people thinking that "prince" and "princess" are titles reserved for the immediate family of a king or queen. In fact, most princesses in history were not immediate members of a royal family but women who married into it; however, in many cases, a princess would choose someone outside of royalty to wed.
Historical princesses
★
Princess Caraboo, actually a British woman of modest means who for a while passed herself off as an exotic island princess.
★
Diana, Princess of Wales
★
Grace Kelly, wife of
Prince Rainier of
Monaco
★
Kaiulani of
Hawaii
★
Marie Thérèse Louise de Savoie-Carignan, princesse de Lamballe, companion to
Marie Antoinette, French queen consort
★
Sayyida Salme (a.k.a. Emily Ruete) (1844-1924), Princess of
Zanzibar and
Oman
★
Sisi, Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria, empress consort of Austria, queen consort of Hungary
★
Pocahontas, an Algonquian Indian, the daughter of Powhatan, has been considered a princess for centuries, although many people question whether or not this designation is historically accurate.
★
Olga Nikolaevna,
Tatiana Nikolaevna,
Maria Nikolaevna and
Anastasia Nikolaevna were the daughters of the last autocratic ruler of the Russian Empire,
Tsar Nicholas II, and of
Tsarina Alexandra.
★
Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom
★
Princess Sophie Hélène Béatrix of France, youngest daughter of
Louis XVI of France and his Queen consort,
Marie Antoinette.
★
Princess Louise-Élisabeth of France, eldest daughter of King
Louis XV of France and his Queen consort,
Maria Leszczyńska
★
Élisabeth Charlotte of Orléans, only daughter of
Philippe I, Duke of Orléans and his second wife
Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine.
★
Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, a granddaughter of George III. Later known as Duchess of Teck by marriage. Mary Adelaide is remembered as the mother of
Queen Mary, the consort of
George V.
★
Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales, the only child of the ill-fated marriage between
George IV (at the time Prince of Wales) and
Caroline of Brunswick.
Present day princesses
★ 'Belgium:'
Mathilde,
Elisabeth,
Astrid,
Luisa Maria,
Maria Laura,
Laetitia Maria,
Claire,
Louise,
Léa,
Marie-Christine,
Maria-Esmeralda.
★ 'Bulgaria:'
Miriam,
Rosario,
Mafalda,
Olimpia,
Carla,
MarÃa,
Sofia,
Kalina and
Marie Louise.
★ 'Burundi:'
Esther Kamatari, an émigrée of 35 years, who is returning to
Burundi to campaign as a potential
president.
★ 'Denmark:'
Mary,
Isabella,
Benedikte and
Elisabeth.
★ 'Greece:'
Marie-Chantal,
Maria Olympia,
Alexia,
Theodora and
Irene.
★ 'Japan:'
Masako,
Aiko,
Kiko,
Kako,
Mako,
Hanako,
Yuriko,
Nobuko,
Akiko,
YÅko,
Hisako,
Tsuguko,
Noriko and
Ayako.
★ 'Jordan:'
Iman bint Al Abdullah ,
Salma,
Alia, Ayah,
Sara,
Aisha bint Al Faisal,
Aisha bint Al Hussein, Zein,
Haya Bint Al Hussein, Rym, Jalilah, Hayah bint Hamzah, Fahdah, Hala,
Iman bint Al Hussein,
Raiyah,
Muna,
Sarvath,
Rahma,
Sumaya,
Badiya, Basma,
Sana,
Yasmine,
Sarah,
Noor,
Salha and
Nejla.
★ 'Liechtenstein:'
Marie Aglaë,
Sophie,
Marie-Caroline,
Angela,
Marie,
Georgina,
Tatjana,
Isabelle,
Margaretha,
Maria-Annunciata,
Marie-Astrid and
Nora.
★ 'Luxembourg:'
Alexandra,
Marie Astrid,
Marie Gabrielle,
Sibilla,
Charlotte,
Elisabeth and
Alix.
★ 'Monaco:'
Antoinette,
Caroline, and
Stéphanie.
★ 'Morocco:'
Lalla Salma,
Lalla Khadija,
Lalla Asma,
Lalla Hasna, and
Lalla Meryem.
★ 'Netherlands:'
Máxima,
Catharina-Amalia,
Alexia,
Ariane,
Laurentien,
Mabel,
Margriet,
Marilene,
Annette,
Anita,
Aimée and
Christina.
★ 'Norway:'
Mette-Marit,
Ingrid Alexandra,
Martha Louise,
Ragnhild and
Astrid.
★ 'Romania:'
Margareta,
Elena,
Irina,
Sofia and
Maria.
★ 'Spain:'
Letizia,
Leonor,
SofÃa,
Elena,
Cristina,
Pilar and
Margarita.
★ 'Sweden:'
Victoria,
Madeleine,
Lilian,
Margaretha,
Birgitta,
Désirée and
Christina.
★ 'Thailand:'
Ubol Ratana,
Bajrakitiyabha,
Sirindhorn,
Chulabhorn,
Bejaratana,
Galyani,
Srirasmi and
Soamsavali.
★ 'Uganda:'
Elizabeth of Toro of
Toro kingdom, who was the nation's first female
lawyer, a former top model for couturiers, and a former
minister and
ambassador in the government of
Idi Amin.
★ 'UK and Commonwealth Realms:'
Anne,
Alexandra,
Camilla,
Sophie,
Beatrice,
Eugenie,
Louise (styled as "Lady" although legally a princess),
Katharine,
Birgitte and
Marie-Christine.
Note: Although Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and India are Republics following the abolition of their Monarchies, these titles are granted as courtesy.
Fictional princesses
Main articles: :Category:Fictional princesses
★ Princess Anneliese from
Barbie in the Princess and the Pauper
★
Xena is not actually a princess but is known by the epithet "warrior princess"
★
Princess Fiona from
Shrek
★ Anya Smith-
Oscar winning role for
Audrey Hepburn in the film
★
Princess Peach and
Princess Daisy in ''Super Mario''.
★
Cagalli Yula Athha from
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed and
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny
★
Lacus Clyne from
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed and
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny was known as the Pink Princess.
★ Diana of the Amazons, better known as
Wonder Woman
★ Emeraude from ''
Magic Knight Rayearth''
★ Princess Adora of
Eternia, better known as
She-Ra
★
Ariel,
Aurora,
Belle,
Cinderella,
Jasmine,
Mulan,
Pocahontas ,
Snow White ,
Tiana ,
Princess Giselle(see
Disney Princesses)
★
Leia Organa of
Alderaan (from ''
Star Wars'')
★ Princess Kalasin in the Kingdom of
Tortall books
★
Eilonwy from the
Chronicles of Prydain
★
Princess Ozma/Ozma, ruler of the land of
Oz
★ Perdita from
Shakespeare's ''
The Winter's Tale''
★ Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia, the daughters of Shakespeare's
King Lear
★
Garnet Til Alexandros,
Final Fantasy IX
★
Marle/Princess Nadia from the video game ''
Chrono Trigger''
★
Princess Schala, also from ''
Chrono Trigger''
★
Princess Zelda, namesake character from the popular Nintendo video game,
The Legend of Zelda
★
Ayeka and
Sasami from ''
Tenchi Muyo!''
★ San from ''
Princess Mononoke''
★
Princess Serenity and
Chibiusa from ''
Sailor Moon''
★ Hana from
Ojamajo Doremi series
★ Mermaid Princesses of ''
Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch''
★ Princess Melisande in
Edith Nesbit's children's story ''Melisande (or Long and Short Measure)''
★ Princess Irene in ''
The Princess and the Goblin'' and ''The Princess and Curdie'' by
George Macdonald
★
Hoshino Ruri in ''
Martian Successor Nadesico'' is the Princess of Peaceland
★ Mia Thermopolis, princess of
Genovia in ''
The Princess Diaries''
★ Princess Buttercup in ''
The Princess Bride''
★ Princess
Kitana of
Edenia from ''
Mortal Kombat''
★ Princess
Kairi from ''
Kingdom Hearts''
★
Haramis,
Kadiya and
Anigel, the three princesses of Ruwenda, from the
Trillium series
★
Princess Ruto from ''
★ from ''
★ Princess Genevieve (and her sisters) from
Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses
★ Princess Comet from
the anime series of the same name (along with Princess Meteor)
★
Princess Elise in
Sonic the Hedgehog
★
Princess Azula from ''
★ Ali Princess of ''Norn Iron''
★ Princess Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca (Ashe), heroine of ''
Final Fantasy XII''
★ Princess
Sally Acorn from the
Sonic the Hedgehog series
★
Princess Selenia from ''
Arthur and the Minimoys''
★ Princess
Starfire of ''
Teen Titans'' (comics and
animated series)
★ Princess ECS of
New Hyde Park
★ Princess Alyss of
The Looking Glass Wars
★ Princess Rachel of
Bournemoth
★ Lenna (or Reina) Charlotte Tycoon of ''
Final Fantasy V''
★ Sarsa (or Salsa) Charlotte Tycoon of ''
Final Fantasy V''
★ Cara (or Krile) Mire Baldesion of ''
Final Fantasy V''
★ Princess Natalia L.K Landvaldear of ''
Tales of the Abyss''
★ Princess Shine Hausen of "
Super Robot Wars Original Generation"
★ Nausicaä of ''
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind''
★ Princess Rosella from
Barbie as the Island Princess
★ Princess Lenore in
Many Moons
Other uses of the term
Widely used as a term of endearment, "princess" has also devolved in mostly American usage to mean any woman of exceptional popularity, such as the "princesses" of high school
prom courts and beauty pageants. The term can also be used disparagingly to refer to a young woman or girl perceived of as being
vain or spoiled. Another variation is "
Jewish Princess" which focuses on affluent, free-spending, suburban
Jewish women.
Yet another take on the rising popularity of being a "princess" is the gentleness and refined composure associated with the title. It often conjures images of elegance and self-control, and among the younger generations, is a depiction of all things feminine and lovely. In
popular culture, the stereotypically ideal relationship between a father and daughter consists of the father considering his daughter to be his own "little princess."
See also
★
Damsel in distress
★
Princess and dragon
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