princess
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For other uses, see Princess (disambiguation).
Princess is the feminine form of prince (from Latin princeps, meaning principal 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.
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. 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.
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 pagents.
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.
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Contents
- 1 Typical attire of princesses
- 2 Historical princesses
- 3 Present day princesses
- 4 Fictional princesses
- 5 See also
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Typical attire of princesses
Princesses in fiction and film stereotypically wear formal dresses—usually, a ball gown. On the head, a crown, diadem, or tiara is often worn.
Historical princesses
- Princess Sairachna, Princess of Egypt during the reign of Cleopatra.
- Princess Caraboo, actually a British woman of modest means who for a while passed herself off as an exotic island princess
- Princess Kritika, duchess of Hungary, assasinated by her own husband
- 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, Queen of France
- Sayyida Salme (a.k.a. Emily Ruete) (1844-1924), Princess of Zanzibar and Oman
- Sisi, Elisabeth of Bavaria. Austria.
- Pocahontas, an Algonquian Indian, the daughter of Powhatan, has been considered a princess for centuries. However, many people question whether or not this is historically accurate.
Present day princesses
- Belgium: Mathilde, Elisabeth, Astrid, Luisa Maria, Maria Laura, Laetitia Maria, Claire and Louise
- Brampton: Princess Rajveer Soos
- Bulgaria: Princess Kalina Saxe-Coburg-Gotha/Sajonia-Coburgo (only daughter of former Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria)
- UK and Commonwealth Realms: Anne, Beatrice, Eugenie, Camilla, Sophie, Louise (styled as "Lady" although legally a princess), Alexandra, Katharine, Marie-Christine and Birgitte.
- Burundi: Esther Kamatari, an émigrée of 35 years, who is returning to Burundi to campaign as a potential president
- Denmark: Mary, Alexandra, Benedikte and Elisabeth
- Japan: Masako, Aiko, Kiko, Kako, Mako, Hanako, Yuriko, Nobuko, Akiko, Yohko, Hisako, Princess Tsuguko, Noriko and Ayako.
- Jordan: Basma bint Talal, an international advocate for children and women, HRH Princess Haya bint Hussein, HRH Princess Sana Asem, HRH Princess Noor bint Asem bin Nayef, HRH Princess Salha bint Asem Bin Nayef
- Liechtenstein: Marie Aglaë, Sophie, Marie-Caroline, Angela, Marie, Georgina, Tatjana, Isabelle, Margaretha, Maria-Annunciata, Marie-Astrid and Nora.
- Monaco: Antoinette, Caroline, and Stéphanie
- Morocco: Lalla Salma, Lalla Asma, Lalla Hasna, and Lalla Meryem
- Netherlands: Máxima, Catharina-Amalia, Alexia, Laurentien, Mabel, Margriet, Marilene, Annette, Anita and Aimée.
- Norway: Mette-Marit, Ingrid Alexandra, Martha Louise, Ragnhild and Astrid
- Spain: Letizia, Leonor, Elena, Cristina, Pilar and Margarita
- Sweden: Victoria, Madeleine, Lilian, Margaretha, Birgitta, Désirée and Christina
- 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
- Greece: Marie-Chantal, Maria Olympia, Alexia, Theodora and Irene.
Note: although Greece is a republic following the abolition of the monarchy, these titles are granted as courtesy in certain countries, particularly Denmark, and so are included in this list.
Fictional princesses
- Xena, Warrior Princess
- Anya Smith- Oscar winning role for Audrey Hepburn in the film Roman Holiday
- 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, and Snow White, the Disney Princesses
- Leia Organa of Alderaan (from Star Wars)
- Lasaraleen Tarkheena from The Chronicles of Narnia (actually a noblewoman, but not a princess)
- Eilonwy from the Chronicles of Prydain
- Ozma, ruler of the land of Oz
- Perdita from Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale
- Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia, King Lear's daughters
- 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
- Peach and Daisy of the Super Mario universe
- Ayeka and Sasami from Tenchi Muyo!
- Cagalli Yula Athha from Mobile Suit Gundam Seed and Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny
- 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.
- Princess Fiona from Shrek
- Mia Thermopolis, princess of Genovia in The Princess Diaries
- Princess Clara from Drawn Together
- Princess Kitana of Edenia from Mortal Kombat
- Haramis, Kadiya and Anigel, the three princesses of Ruwenda, from the Trillium series
- Princess Ruto from The Legend of Zelda; Ocarina of Time.
- Princess Genevieve from Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses
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- Princess Elise in Sonic the Hedgehog ]
See also
- Damsel in distress
- Princess and dragon
Categories: Articles lacking sources | Princesses | Monarchy | Noble titles
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