Everything's Better with Princesses: Difference between revisions

 

 

 

After years of exposure to the [[Princess Classic|classical princess]] we have this interpretation that princesses have it easy. They don't have to work (that's their [[Royals Who Actually Do Something|parents' job]]!), they get everything they want (money and power go a long way) and, in girls' series, they have [[Merchandise-Driven|very marketable wardrobes]] (blame the [[Ermine Cape Effect]]).

 

 

Any [[The Kingdom|Kingdom]] worth the name has a princess. If that's the case, expect a violent conflict with her [[Aloof Big Brother]], [[The Evil Prince]], and/or the [[Evil Chancellor]].

 

A [[Super-Trope]] to [[Princess Classic]].

 

* ''[[Sailor Moon]]''

** The title character turns out to be Princess Serenity, whom everyone had been searching for. In the manga and the English dub, all the other senshi were princesses, too.

* ''[[Dai Mahou Touge]]'' is a twisted, savage, yet strangely hilarious subversion of the stereotype.

* ''[[Futari wa Pretty Cure]]''

** Elsewhere in the ''[[Pretty Cure]]'' franchise, ''[[Yes! Pretty Cure 5]]'' added a Princess among an influx of royals. Yes, they were also mascot creatures.

** In [[The Movie]] of ''[[Yes! Pretty Cure 5]]'', the girls and the mascots visit "Princess Land", a theme park where the female patrons all get to wear ballgowns and pretend they're princesses. As you would expect, it seems to be a very popular place.

* Thanks to the title, ''[[Princess Tutu]]'' seems like it'd play this trope straight... particularly since the main character Duck (or Ahiru) turns into the eponymous [[Magical Girl]]. ''But'' the show subverts this with an Aesop that {{spoiler|Duck has to accept the person she truly is, and eventually has to give up the ability to become both Tutu ''and'' a girl (she's an actual bird)}}. The [[Dark Magical Girl]] Princess Kraehe has a difficult home life as well (... to say the least). When Princess Kraehe shows up, [[Reality Warper|Herr]] [[Mad Artist|Drosselmeyer]] comments "Two heroines? That simply ''won't'' do."

* Averted in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]''. Like many [[Magical Girl]] shows with a fantasy bent, female royals exist, in this case, from [[The Empire|Ancient Belka]]. However, unlike many [[Magical Girl]] shows with a fantasy bent, they are not princesses. Instead, [[Person of Mass Destruction|they are Kings that possess massive destructive capabilities]] [[Warrior Prince|that make them symbols of power that lead their country to war]]. Yeah, the title of King seems to be unisex for Ancient Belka. {{spoiler|The main character adopts the clone of one of them as her kid}}. That said, ''ViVid'' reveals that they are still referred to as Princesses before they take the title of King. The Saint family, at least.

* Subverted in ''[[Berserk]]''. Princess Charlotte should normally fit the trope to a T with her [[Princess Classic]] characterisation. But there is no such thing as [[Black and Gray Morality|all good]] in the series' [[Crapsack World]]. Hence, the girl is reduced to being nothing but a [[Meal Ticket]] for [[Dark Messiah|Griffith]] who plans to use her to access to the throne of Midland legally. Being the consort of a [[Dark Messiah]], she is very unlikely to have a positive impact on the story.

* The Six Flowers of the Hibiscus Shield (magic fairies living in Orihime's hair clips) became the Six Princess Shielding Flowers in the English dub of ''[[Bleach]]''.

** ''[[Mobile Fighter G Gundam|G Gundam]]'', the first show with a new continuity, also brings the first real princess, the very [[Moe Moe]] Maria Louise of Neo France.

** Relena Darlian (real name: Relena Peacecraft) of the Sanc Kingdom in ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam Wing|Gundam Wing]]''. Like Sayla, she is exiled, too, and comes with an [[The Evil Prince|evil brother]].

** ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam SEED|Gundam SEED]]'' has two subversions: Cagalli Yula Athha is a legitimate but [[Rebellious Princess]] of Orb Union, while Lacus Clyne is not a real royalty but de facto the most powerful political figure in the entire Earth sphere. She is also [[Tomboy and Girly Girl|much more lady-like than]] [[Bifauxnen|tomboyish]] Cagalli.

*** [[All There in the Manual|Lacus is a real royalty]], just too minor for it to matter.

** ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00|Gundam 00]]'' drives it to the extreme with Marina Ismail, arguably, an [[Expy]] of Relena and Lacus and an ''elected princess of a constitutional monarchy''.

** Fact: it's easier to list those ''Gundam'' series without a princess or two, than those with them.

* ''[[Murder Princess]]'' is yet another subversion. The real princess of [[The Kingdom]] of Forland is a weak-willed [[Ojou]] but soon [[Freaky Friday Flip|switches bodies]] with the most [[Badass]] [[Action Girl]] in history, who proceeds to kick much ass and become the titular character.

* Pacifica in ''[[Scrapped Princess]]'' is a subversion as she is a pure-blood princess but must endure very harsh conditions, starting with the small fact that almost the entire world population believes that her head on a stake is a good idea...

* Sakura in ''[[Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle]]'', and side-characters Tomoyo and Emeraude.

* ''[[Martian Successor Nadesico]]'' spent a whole episode late in the series establishing that [[Little Miss Snarker|Ruri]] was [[Changeling Fantasy|actually the princess]] of a cheap imitation (literally [[The Theme Park Version]]) of Switzerland. This episode was never referenced again, not even in Ruri's next [["Previously On..."]] narration in which she's too embarrassed to explain it. Also played with in the same episode, when she attempts to research the concept and hits a [[Magical Girl]] series with her first search. Her response is to narrow the parameters.

** Except for the fact that she is [[Hot-Blooded|hot-blooded like NOBODY's business]].

** Actually, Lord Genome's princesses were born naturally from his relationships with girls hand-picked because of their special genetics

* Sasami seems to embody this trope the most in the ''[[Tenchi Muyo!|Tenchi Muyo]]'' universes. Aeka also has her moments, but isn't quite as sweet.

* Dianeira in ''[[Heroic Age]]'' somewhat averts the trope. She's portrayed as pure and a borderline [[The Messiah|Messiah]], but has a limited wardrobe, plot-relevant powers, and has had to do diplomacy and give people orders.

* Subverted in ''[[Naruto]]''. [[The Chick|Sakura]] is the only one of the main [[Power Trio]] that comes from a normal civilian family; more directly, Tsunade is descended from a former Hokage and often referred to as "Princess", but is the most [[Real Life]]-administrator-like Kage depicted so far.

** To be fair, that is probably because three of the four Hokages preceding her were dead when the series started and the Third was something of a figurehead (at least after he came out of retirement due to the Fourth's death). And since the main characters are in Konoha, there's not much of a reason to see the other Kages doing boring paperwork.

** Also note that this is one of the few series where the lead female, Oscar, ''is'' minor nobility.

* At least one of the female ''Spider Riders'' is royal, too.

* Princess Sapphire, the eponymous ''[[Princess Knight]]''.

'''Joey:''' Maybe it's a shemale. You know, like Bakura. }}

* Kuro in ''[[Kurokami]]'' is a princess.

* In the first installment of ''[[Project A-ko]]'', C-ko is revealed to be an alien princess.

* When [[Yotsuba&!]] first glimpses tomboy Miura's highrise apartment:

'''Miura:''' Yes. I've been hiding it, but I'm actually a princess. Listen, don't tell anyone, OK? It's a secret. }}

* The titular heroine of ''[[Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water]]'' is a circus acrobat who performs under the stage name of "Princess Nadia", unaware that her [[Orphan's Plot Trinket]] identifies her as a genuine princess from a lost civilization. Subverted in that Nadia doesn't ''like'' being called "princess" because the word has bad associations for her.

* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' mostly avoids the trope, but does have one character - Mei Chang - who is a daughter of the Emperor of Xing. She's only rarely identified in-story as a princess, however, and almost never acts like one; she's too busy being [[Badass Adorable]].

** In what can only be described as a subversion, there's also [[General Ripper|Olivier Mira Armstrong]], whose mannerisms are about as un-princessy as you can get while still being a regal [[Lady of War]]. But in the manga, her men (the Briggs Bears) occasionally refer to her as "the Princess" as a sign of their love and respect.

* Completely inverted in [[Digimon Adventure]] in the one episode when Mimi becomes a "princess" (though she's pretty much self-proclaimed). A bunch of [[Frogs and Toads|Geckomon]] need her voice to wake up their lord, she seizes the opportunity to the fullest and milks the poor creatures for all they're worth. She becomes spoiled, betrays her friends and overall acts as a total [[Jerkass|bitch]] until a [[Nightmare Sequence|terrible nightmare]] makes her realize her wrongdoings.

 

== Card Games ==

* Princess Projectra (Vauxhall-Wynzorr) of the ''[[Legion of Super-Heroes]]'' is a fabulously rich illusion caster from the treasure-planet of Orando. (Until her homeworld was blown up.)

** Though, to be fair, the first incarnation of Princess Projectra did eventually become Queen Projectra.

* Princess Silvy of Illusitania in the Italian comic storyline ''[[Mickey Mouse Comic Universe|Mickey Mouse and the World to Come]]''.

* The princess who is [[Little Nemo]]'s dream playmate.

== Fan Works ==

* Averted with Princess Jody, the [[Big Bad]] of [http://fav.me/d4a27sp Super Milestone Wars].

* Several princesses can be found in ''[http://dorksidefiker.livejournal.com/148547.html That Damn Mpreg]'', ranging from Rebecca Altman-Kaplan, who eventually abdicates her position in favor of her younger brother to Princess Surdani of the Inhuman Royal Family, who eventually becomes Queen due to one brother being insane and the other brother refusing to be exposed to the Terrigen Mists.

* Marina and Magalie, princesses of the Aequori [[Our Mermaids Are Different|mermaids]] and {{spoiler|Sierra}} the Princess of Nadir in [[Keepers of the Elements]].

 

== Films -- Animation ==

# Cinderella -- ''[[Cinderella (Disney film)|Cinderella]]'' (1950)

# Princess Aurora -- ''[[Sleeping Beauty (Disney film)|Sleeping Beauty]]'' (1959)

** The reason the [[Disney Animated Canon]] is stuffed with princesses is actually because they draw so much on fairy tales... but as of the 1990s, they centered merchandising on the princess characters, and you know the rest. Actually, only ''some'' of the princess characters got in; those that had bit parts, were from unpopular movies, or just weren't as merchandisable were shoved in the back. And they've tried a few times to add non-royals into the line, despite Mulan, Esmeralda, and Alice definitely not being princesses, either to ease concerns that the classic pantheon wasn't dynamic and/or integrated enough (Mulan being the best [[Action Girl]] they could use, since they didn't have one) or to fill out various storybooks, music albums, etc. Pocahontas, another honorary member of the group, actually ''is'', but might not have been considered "classic" when the line was introduced. (That, or her clothes aren't considered pretty enough.) Naturally, this was somewhat referenced in ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'', where those who qualified as "[[MacGuffin|Princesses of Heart]]" just happened to be popular characters on both sides of the Pacific. Alice, a non-princess, was in fact added to the list, with the thin justification that she becomes [[The High Queen|a queen]] in [[Alice in Wonderland|the original books]] (and as foreshadowing that another seemingly normal character is also one). Ariel was in fact REMOVED from the list for ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'', probably because, as a mermaid, she wouldn't be able to leave Atlantica to interact with the larger plot, but she gets to be an [[Action Girl]] [[Guest Star Party Member]].

** Most people would now count Pocahontas as a princess, and she's usually merchandised as one, but this is very amusing (or annoying) for somebody who [[Did Not Do the Research|actually knows something about Native American culture]]. Her father being the chief says nothing about her "royalty".

** Heck, the princesses were featured prominently at [[Disney Theme Parks]] even before the big marketing push began.

** Ironically, the [[Powers That Be]] at Disney have decided to start deliberately averting this trope (to a certain extent) after theorizing that marketing ''[[The Princess and the Frog]]'' as a Princess movie turned away the male demographic. The major results so far have been:

## Changing the title of their "[[Rapunzel]]" adaptation to ''Tangled'', and...

### Now its been announced they are going to do an adaption of "[[The Snow Queen]]" now renamed ''[[Frozen (Disney film)|Frozen]]'', following the lead of ''[[Enchanted]]'' and ''[[Tangled]]''.

** And then there's Atta and Dot from ''[[A Bug's Life|A Bugs Life]]''. Despite both of them being insects, they are actually the only two princesses created specifically for a [[Pixar]] film.

** Eilonwy of [[The Black Cauldron]]: There's absolutely no point to having her be a princess. She does doesn't do anything princessy. She doesn't wear fancy dresses, give orders, I don't know sing. We don't even see her kingdom or castle. All she has going for her is the name so really there's not reason for it.

** Kidagakash from ''[[Atlantis: The Lost Empire|Atlantis the Lost Empire]]'', who is the ''only'' princess created by Disney to ever become [[The High Queen|a Queen]] at the end of her film.

** ''Shrek: The Musical!'' added one more, making Lord Farquaad's mother the princess from "[[The Princess and the Pea]]".

* ''[[Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind]]''. Not that you could tell there's royalty around without being told so.

* ''[[The Swan Princess]]''

* ''[[The Flight of Dragons]]'' has Princess Melisande, the [[Happily Adopted]] foster daughter of the wizard Carolinus. Her being a princess has ''nothing'' to do with the story, and probably the only reason she is one at all is so that the hero can win the heart of a princess like in any proper fairy tale.

 

== Films -- Live-Action ==

*** Warrior Princess Plourr, X-Wing Pilot;

*** One-armed Jedi Princess (later Queen) Tenel Ka.

* In the movie ''[[Stardust (film)|Stardust]]'' all the princes (save one) are evil, but their sister the princess is as sweet as can be. The book avoided this. She wasn't exactly evil, but growing up surrounded by vindictive princes and later a vindictive witch made her very shrewd and cold-hearted. {{spoiler|In both versions, she is the hero's mother.}}

** Possibly justified in that the princes were ''expected'' to kill each other off until there was only one left to inherit the throne. Since girls couldn't rule the kingdom, there was no reason for the princess to be involved in such scheming.

* The [[Disney Channel]] movie ''[[Princess Protection Program]]'' gives princesses... well, [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|their own protection program]] should they find themselves in danger. Presumably this trope is the reason why [[Men Are the Expendable Gender|princes are not mentioned as getting the same privileges]].

* Neytiri from ''[[Avatar (film)|Avatar]]''. Did she really ''need'' to be [[The Chief's Daughter]]? (To be fair, her place as the successor to the tribe's shaman gave her statement that there had been a sign from Eywa considerable weight, but still.)

* Princess Tamina in ''[[Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time|Prince of Persia the Sands of Time]]'', who is apparently the princess of a city: one comment by her suggests that for some reason, each woman who guards [[MacGuffin|the time-reversing dagger]] is called a princess.

** The movie seems to imply that her city is an ''[[wikipedia:Principality|independent principality]]''. As such the title of the city’s monarch would be princess, especially if only women ascend to the throne.

* Altogether subverted by ''[[Mirror Mask]]'': The Dark Princess is the [[Evil Counterpart]] of the main character, who is an ordinary circus girl.

* In the [[So Bad It's Good]] children's adventure film ''[[Quest of the Delta Knights]]'', it's revealed that serving wench/implied prostitute Thena is actually the long-lost Princess Athena of a neighboring kingdom.

 

 

* Subverted in the book ''Summer Knight'' of [[The Dresden Files]], where {{spoiler|the [[Big Bad]] turns out to be Aurora, the effectively-princess of the usually-nicer half of the [[Fair Folk]].}}

* Princess Irene, the title princess of [[George MacDonald]]'s ''The Princess and the Goblin'' and ''The Princess and Curdie''.

That the princess was a real princess you might see now quite plainly; for she didn't hang on to the handle of the door, and stare without moving, as I have known some do who ought to have been princesses but were only rather vulgar little girls. She did as she was told, stepped inside the door at once, and shut it gently behind her.'' }}

** However, it is worth mentioning that the author either subverts this trope or takes it [[Up to Eleven]] by breaking the fourth wall to tell the reader that they are a princess too.

* ''[[Power Rangers Wild Force]]'' has Princess Shayla as their mentor. No particular plot-relevant reason for her to be a princess.

* Inverted in ''[[Tin Man (TV series)|Tin Man]]'': True, DG is a princess and the best hope of the resistance, but {{spoiler|it's also all her fault that there's a need for a resistance in the first place!}} She also seems to conspicuously lack the floofy dress and tiara.

** Gabrielle, her sidekick, is an Amazon princess, sorta. {{spoiler|She gets to be an actual Amazon princess by the Queen of the Greek Amazons' younger sister and heir transferring her right of caste (a.k.a. princess-hood) to her before dying; she then gets to be Queen further on.}}

** Justified in that she [[Active Royalty|takes over her father's duties when he's incapacitated]]. Also, three of the male knights were princes from other kingdoms {{spoiler|including the one they were fighting against!}}

* ''Kings'' is good for this. In a court filled with adulterers, corruption, misdirection and all manner of levels of deceit, only Princess Michelle cares about the health care of the people and is willing to sacrifice. Unfortunately for her, ''[[Good Is Dumb]]''.

== Music ==

* The Coup "Wear Clean Draws", the rapper Boots Riley gives advice to his daughter:

* Inverted in [[Vocaloid|The Story of Evil]], in which the "Daughter of Evil" Rillianne, though technically a ruling queen, [[Princesses Rule|prefers to retain the title of Princess]]. She is a spoiled [[Royal Brat]], a tyrant and a [[Green-Eyed Monster]].

 

 

== Theater ==

== Toys and Games ==

* [[Barbie]] plays a princess in some of her movies. Plus some of the dolls are named as though she is a princess, like the [[Winter Royal Lady|"Winter Princess"]] line.

* The game "Pretty Pretty Princess".

* Shogi, commonly known as Japanese chess, is notably lacking in the queen piece that western chess features. However, one variant of the game features a piece called "the princess", which basically acts like a queen. This variant is called ''Okisaki'' - which means ''princess''.

*** Her characterization is more of [[The High Queen]] than a regular princess (she's certainly queen of the Lumas).

*** As [[Moviebob]] pulls it, Rosalina is '''God'''. That's right, [[Exaggerated Trope|they took this trope to the next level]].

** Not exactly; Zelda's father the king was referred to several games. In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past|The Legend of Zelda a Link To T He Past]]'' he was somehow removed by Agahnim and "recovered" during the ending sequence. In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time|The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time]]'' he was just off camera in the scene where Link and Zelda spy on Ganondorf during their first meeting; god knows what happened to him after that. He was actually a ''named character'' (Gustav) in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap|The Legend of Zelda the Minish Cap]]'' and charged Link with his mission after Zelda was turned to stone by Vaati.

*** This is because she in fact is the queen, but they didn't have time to do the ceremony of crowning, so her "princess" title remained. Or so I was told...

*** Of interest is the fact that {{spoiler|Midna was apparently elected by the people to serve as the Princess, instead of Zant. A democratic monarchy}}. That may just be the first time that particular situation has come up in a video game.

*** Note that while "Princess" is not the correct title for the female ruler of a ''kingdom'', it is correct for the female ruler of a ''principality''. Since Hyrule is always called a kingdom, the problem still applies.

*** Furthermore, according to the ''Twilight Princess'' trading card deck, Zant's arrival in Hyrule came a few days before what was supposed to have been Zelda's coronation day. So she was ''going'' to be Queen, but the invasion kind of disrupted the proceedings.

*** Something similar applies to ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks|The Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks]]'': Zelda is not the queen, because she's just a child yet and therefore actually only second-in-command to her [[Evil Chancellor|Minister, Cole]]. It's unclear if she became Queen by the end of the game or if a new Minister was named, due to the original one {{spoiler|being killed in the final battle, along with Malladus.}}

** An aversion actually occurs with Zelda's ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword|The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword]]'' (which is currently the very first game in the series on a chronological sense) incarnation, who is ''not'' a princess or royalty, but still an important figure in the story. Makes sense, seeing as the ''Kingdom'' of Hyrule doesn't exist yet.

* Taken to extremes with Princess Shine in ''[[Super Robot Wars]]''. She's not only a ruling princess of the nation of Riksent, but the rest of the world is [[The Federation|one nation!]] It's handwaved by saying that Riksent is a special area, but why don't we see any other leaders except for the President of the Federation?

** Oddly, Elise should be a duchess, but she's called "princess" anyway.

*** Actually, no. The ruler of Soleanna is called Princess if it is a woman on the throne.

** ''[[Final Fantasy IX]]'' has Garnet/Dagger, who has a [[Heroic BSOD]] around the same time {{spoiler|she's crowned queen.}}

** ''[[Final Fantasy XII]]'''s Princess Ashe is a [[Deconstruction]]. She's the leader of [[La Résistance]], all right, but can hardly be said to have it easy. She's stuck in a surprisingly realistic depiction of the burdens of a real leader, and is the one who has to make all the hard choices.

* Subverted in ''[[The Witcher]]''. Princess Adda is {{spoiler|evil, power hungry, and spoiled. She tries to kill her father and usurp his throne, murder the hero to cover it up and at the end of the day she gets away with it all because of her social standing. She also started her life as a stillborn infant that was turned into a flesh eating monster and still has some leftover personality traits from that time including a taste for raw meat and an aggressive sexual appetite.}}

* As mentioned before, ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' uses the full cast of Disney Princesses as "Princesses of Hearts", minus Pocahontas and Ariel (although she still appears) and plus Alice Lidell and the Nomura-designed character Kairi, who seems to be kind of the Princess of the Final Fantasy themed-world "Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden". Despite this, she's shown to be an average school girl on Destiny Island and [[Generic Cuteness|not especially beautiful]] compared to the other girl(s) on the Island. She's only distinguished from normal girls by her absolutely pure heart (Which seems to grant her the ability to strengthen the light in other peoples' hearts, as seen with Sora) and her ability to unseal the keyhole of Radiant Garden. She can also wield a keyblade, but probably that's not due to her status as Princess.

* ''[[Ogre Battle]]'' takes this trope literally: a Princess is one of the (if not the absolute) best soldiers in the game, mostly for the fact that every soldier in a unit led by a Princess gets an extra attack. The Princess herself has a powerful, hit everyone, white magic attack, which is also subject to getting an extra by the previous ability.

* Princess Kumatora in ''[[Mother 3]]''. {{spoiler|Both straight and subverted - the only reason she's a "princess" is because some people decided that everything's better with them.}}

** As I understand it, her title of Princess (and more importantly, Brunstud) comes from the fact that she's the closest thing the True Ancestors were able to make to a clone of their progenitor, Crimson Moon Brunstead, the Type spirit of the Moon, and that her ability to summon Castle Brunstud is proof that one day Type Moon will revive in her body. Unless her pseudo little sister Altrouge Brunstud, who can also summon Castle Brunstud, does it first.

* The Princess is a class in the Sega RPG ''7th Dragon''. It appears to be exactly equivalent to the bard-type class in similar games, supporting the other units in the party.

* Compiling a list of all the princesses in the ''[[Suikoden]]'' series would take [[Loads and Loads of Characters|some time]], and comparing them would take fair longer. Consider, though, [[Lady of War]] [[Suikoden Tierkreis|Chrodechild]]; the young, innocent, and [[Tsundere|feisty]] [[Suikoden V|Lymselia]]; and [[The Archer]] [[Suikoden IV|Flare]], who stands directly between those extremes in terms of personality (and combat efficacy).

* ''[[Mega Man Battle Network]]'' has Princess Pride.

** From the [[Brother Chuck|long-forgotten PC98 era]] is Kotohime, [[Cloudcuckoolander|but she thinks she's a cop]].

** To be more precise, Yuyuko's the sort of girl who'd joke and laugh and make merry during a Mahjong match, so no-one'd take her seriously, then suddenly pull a big winning hand out of seemingly nowhere, as her opponents weren't paying enough attention to her plays.

* She's not actually stated to be a princess directly however, rather she's said to be the Daughter of the King of Wolfkrone, who has been driven mad by the Evil Seed, and has since been leading the kingdom in his stead. Her alternate outfit pieces are listed as "Princess ___" however hinting this is her title even if she is acting ruler.

* In ''[[Mitsumete Knight]]'', Princess Priscilla Dolphan fits the bill. She's a [[King Incognito|Princess Incognito]] [[Genki Girl]] [[I Just Want to Be Normal|who longs for a life as a normal commoner girl]], and is only [[The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask|Wearing The Queenly Mask]] in important receptions for pleasing her beloved father. She of course sports a lot of [[Princess Tropes]] (and nicely [[Subverted Trope|subverts]] or [[Playing with a Trope|plays with]] some of them, see her entry in [[Mitsumete Knight/Characters|the game's Character Sheet]]), ''and'' is a [[Nintendo Hard]] character to get the ending of, due to being a Princess.

* Princess Yggdra from ''[[Yggdra Union]]'' is an interesting example. Her parents the king and queen were recently killed in the invasion of her country, and as she's on the run, she doesn't have anyone to coronate her properly. Until midway through the game, where she ''does'' become queen. And the accompanying class change makes her much more kickass.

* One of the oldest video game examples (and [[Action Girl]] to boot!) is [[King's Quest|Princess Rosella of Daventry!]]

* Feena Fam Earthlight from ''[[Yoake Mae Yori Ruriiro na]]'' is a princess, despite the fact that matriarchal monarchy seems to be an unlikely government type for a country that was founded by humans who had colonized the moon. Royal politics do come into play later in the story, however.

* ''[[Jabless Adventure]]'' features what we can only assume is a parody of the standard "rescue the princess" plot. Specifically, the princess isn't even mentioned until the game is almost over:

'''Squiddy:''' Neither did I... }}

** Then, after you defeat the final boss, said princess shows up out of nowhere.

* Twin princesses Teri and Tina in ''Snow Brothers'', whose kisses cause the snow to melt from the heroes.

* Invoked as part of the game's [[Fairytale Motif]] in ''[[Rule of Rose]]'', as the ruling rank in the Red Crayon Aristocrats is the Princess of the Red Rose, who is supposed to fulfill all the stereotypical princess-tropes. Since the Aristocrats are a [[Deadly Decadent Court]] consisting solely of young girls, she doesn't quite hold up to them, even if she wasn't an inanimate china doll {{spoiler|or appeared to be one, in any case}}. There's also the game's insistence of calling every single female character save for the protagonist a Princess in the narration.

 

== Webcomics ==

* [[Lampshade Hanging]] on the whole phenomenon is done in [http://www.misfile.com/?page=427 this strip] of ''[[Misfile]]''.

* Played straight so far in ''[[Last Res0rt]]'' with Princess Adharia Kuvoe, complete with [[Orphan's Plot Trinket]]. Oh, and we forgot to mention, she's blonde with pink fur. Possibly a [[Rebellious Princess]] as well.

** Given that [http://www.lastres0rt.com/?p=116 she's in some kind of cahoots with Veled] in order to go gunning for her throne, she's accelerated a few notches.

* [[Lampshaded]] pretty thoroughly in the Punyverse of ''[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=010616&mode=weekly Sluggy Freelance]''. After all, who would ever have guessed that {{spoiler|Secret Angel Princess-Princess}} is really... Princess Princess-Princess?

** "Boy that sounded stupid when I said it out loud!"

** Partial aversion as well: only a handful (if that) have personalities that fit this trope.

* The second alien Bob ever met in ''[[The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob]]'' is the beautiful Princess Voluptua. The first was Ahem, the [[Starfish Aliens|three-legged talking jellyfish]] she was being [[Arranged Marriage|forced to marry]]. [[Squick|Ew...]] Of course, she's {{spoiler|[[Starfish Aliens|not really humanoid ''either'']], but they're still physically very different.}}

* The first arc of ''[[I Was Kidnapped by Lesbian Pirates from Outer Space]]'' is an attempt by the crew to find their long, lost Lesbian Princess. Which they do -- {{spoiler|it's just not the person they expect}}. The second arch appears to be about returning the princess to her mother.

* In ''[[No Rest for The Wicked (webcomic)|No Rest for The Wicked]]'', November really is a princess (specifically, the princess from "[[The Princess and the Pea]]"); unfortunately, no one believes her, because traveling through the woods on her quest has made her look too ragged. (She can tell who really has royal blood and who doesn't, but that doesn't seem to be a common ability.) She subverts this trope at times and also plays it straight.

* Justified in ''[[Erfworld]]'' with {{spoiler|Jillian Zamussels}}, since her side was destroyed by Stanley and the rules of the world mean she couldn't become queen. Of course, that's changing...

* [[Genki Girl|Feferi Peixes]] of ''[[Homestuck]]'' is never referred to explicitly as a princess in the comic, but considering that she's next in line to become empress of the galaxy-spanning Alternian Empire, wears a tiara at all times and lives in a giant undersea palace, she belongs on this list.

* In ''[[The Devil's Panties|The Devils Panties]]'' Jenni, the main character has, in addition to the traditional Angel and Devil on her shoulder a Pink Princess representing her girlie side.

* Princess Amazia in the [[Show Within a Show]] in ''[[Plus EV]]''.

* Played straight as an arrow with ''[[Samurai Princess]]''. If this comic did have a princess or two in it, the comic would probably need a new name.

 

 

== Western Animation ==

* All the fairies of ''[[Winx Club]]'' are princesses. Except the main character, who's a normal girl from Earth... [[Changeling Fantasy|oh, yeah. She turned out to be a princess too]]. Look at that.

** Strictly speaking, only Bloom, Stella, Galatea, and Layla/Aisha are princesses in all versions. Tecna is a princess in the comics. Roxy {{spoiler|is the daughter of Queen Morgana, but she abdicates the throne shortly after learning this.}}

* Elyon in ''[[WITCH (animation)|WITCH]]'' is revealed as a princess fairly early on. She [[Lampshade Hanging|hung a lampshade on it]] in during the Nerissa arc when, after mediating an endless series of boundary disputes, she remarked that she was getting the "queen" part of being a princess, but missing out on the "princess" part (the Prince Charming, the moonlight balls, etc.).

* Following Disney tradition, Mira Nova of ''[[Buzz Lightyear of Star Command]]'', [[The Smurfette Principle|the only woman on Buzz's team]], is an alien princess. The show takes the [[Intangible Man|intangibility]] of her people of more importance than her blue blood, though, and has even been shown to resent her royalty being acknowledged ("Good one your Highness!" "Just call me Mira...").

* ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]''

** Subverted: Katara's father Hakoda is a tribal chieftain, but not nobility. Azula is a princess, but evil through and through. Toph might be taking this a little more straight: while not a princess, she is from a noble family, though she's [[Rebellious Princess|dislikes it]] and is as far from [[The Chick]] as is physically possible.

* Aelita from ''[[Code Lyoko]]'' is nicknamed "Princess" by her friends since early on in Season 1. She has [[Reality Warper]] powers on Lyoko, and the unique ability to deactivate the Towers. At the end of Season 2, we learn that she is actually the daughter of the creator of Lyoko... making her indeed the Princess of this virtual world.

* ''Princess Natasha Student Secret Agent Princess'', a flash animation series developed for AOL Kids.

* Phantom Girl from ''[[Legion of Super-Heroes (TV series)|Legion of Super-Heroes]]'', technically a ''president's'' daughter, but otherwise fits.

* The 2009 ''[[Strawberry Shortcake]]'' revamp reintroduces the Berrykins, who are ruled by Princess Berrykin (not to be mistaken for the Berry Princess, who took care of the Berrykins, from the 1985 special).

* ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'': [[Cute Bruiser|Starfire]] and [[Dark Action Girl|Blackfire]] are both princesses of Tamaran, which is less of a kingdom and more of an entire planet. Being [[Human Aliens]] of the [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]] variety, [[Authority Equals Asskicking|both kicks ass]]: Starfire [[Royals Who Actually Do Something|for a living]], and Blackfire [[For the Evulz|for kicks]]. Except for special occasions, neither wear dresses, and then [[Pimped-Out Dress|frilliness]] is foregone in favor of slink (think [[Little Black Dress]], but [[Princesses Prefer Pink|Starfire prefers pink]]).

** There're also a few kings or men of similar titles: Giant Worm King, King of Thieves, Duke of Nuts, Fire Count, and [[An Ice Person|Ice King]]. As well as the [[Big Bad|Lich King]] before his "king" title was [[Writing Around Trademarks|removed]].

** There are also some queens: Marceline, the Vampire Queen, who is [[Affably Evil]], and Lady Rainicorn, the "Rowdy Queen" of the Cloud Kingdom.

** ''[[The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland]]'' was largely about saving the Princess of Heart.

* Not only Amalia Sheran Sharm of ''[[Wakfu]]'''s [[Five-Man Band]] is an adventurer-princess, there is an early episode entirely devoted to princesses, "Miss Ugly".

* The main character of ''[[Xcalibur]]'' is a princess. However, considering she wears [[Breast Plate|a slightly impractical body armor]] for the entire show, you'd probably never think about this.

* ''Princess'' Ingrid, a member of the [[Opposing Sports Team]] in the French series ''Pierre et Isa''. (A series about the Winter [[Olympic Games]].)

[[Category:Always Female]]

[[Category:Princess Tropes]]

[[Category:Everything's Better with Indexes]]