Princesses Today

WHEN MOST OF US think of princesses, we conjure up fairy tales and Disney movies, lovely Cinderella or Belle in their pale blue taffeta and yellow silk ball gowns—or the ultra-pink princess merchandise pushed on girls today.

Perhaps it’s a surprise to find beneath the glitter that these are real people who are princesses, and who lead very different lives than we see in the sugary movies—princesses who are comfortable wearing sensible wool suits and athletic clothes more often than fancy dresses and sparkly jewels.

Thirty-nine nations in the world still have monarchies—constitutional monarchies, which means the royal family is important, but that the real political power is in the elected parliament and the Prime Minister. Many of these monarchies include princesses, of all ages—some born into their royal family, like princesses Kako and Aiko of Japan, and some married in, like commoner Princess Mette-Marit of Norway.

However they became princesses, these real girls and women are as different from one another as any girls can be. Many do live with great wealth and privilege, true, but their lives can be quite conventional. They go to school, start businesses (like Princess Naa Asie Ocansey of Ghana, who has had a TV home-shopping show), and do charity work. Some are happy with their lives, and others struggle with their royal role, as did the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and the late Princess Leila of Iran.

Real princesses have various personalities, talents, and hobbies. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand writes poetry and short stories, plays Thai classical instruments, and also jogs, swims, bikes, and treks.

A closer look at just six modern-day princesses gives you an idea of the many ways to live a real life of royalty today—and not one of these princesses resembles Sleeping Beauty.

An Equestrian Princess

Her Royal Highness Haya bint Al Hussein—also known as Princess Haya—was born in 1974 and grew up in the royal family of Jordan. Her father is the late King Hussein, and her mother is Queen Alia Al Hussein. She attended St. Hilda’s College in Oxford, England, studying politics, philosophy, and economics. She is an avid sportswoman who competes in equestrian sports (horse competitions being a popular royal pastime), including the 2000 Summer Olympics at Sydney.

In 2004, when she was thirty, Princess Haya married His Highness Sheik Muhammed, the Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and moved to that vibrant city in the United Arab Emirates to be with him. In her role as princess, Haya leads many humanitarian efforts. She advocates for children’s right to play and for health care, and served as the first woman ambassador to the United Nations hunger relief program.

A Champion Fighter Princess

Her Highness Sheikha Maitha bint Muhammed al-Maktum has not traveled the standard princess-and-horses route. Born in 1980 to Sheik Muhammed bin Rashid Al Maktum of Dubai and the United Arab Emirates, Maitha has followed her passion for the martial arts and is a karate champion.

Princess Maitha has won gold medals at Tae Kwon Do championships, competes in international karate championships, and was named the Arab world’s best female athlete.

An Everygirl Princess

Mary Elizabeth Donaldson fits the image of the ordinary girl who becomes a royal princess. Born in Australia in 1972, she grew up on the island of Tasmania, where her father was a math professor. She played field hockey and swam, and after graduation from college, she worked for an ad agency and in public relations.

She met her future husband, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, at a pub in Sydney; he was in town for the 2000 Olympics. In 2004 they had a grand wedding—800 guests at the Copenhagen Cathedral—and Mary Elizabeth became the new princess of Denmark. They have since had two children: Prince Christian, born in 2005, and Princess Isabella, born in April 2007.

An Unassuming Princess

Most people know that Prince Charles is the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth, the reigning Queen of England, and know of Charles’ famous late wife, Diana. However, not as many people talk of Charles’ only sister, Anne—which is just how she wants it. Anne was born in 1950, and her full title is HRH The Princess Anne Elizabeth, Princess Royal, which denotes that she is the eldest daughter of the Queen.

Although she has not abdicated her royal status, she has led a very unassuming life outside the public eye. When she married, her first husband declined to take a royal title, even though it is considered common to do so. She chose not to pass on royal titles to her children, Peter and Zara, in order to protect them from the spotlight that hovers over children in the British royal family.

A Young Lady Princess

The youngest girl of the British royal line has also sidestepped the title Princess. Born in 2003 to Prince Edward (Charles’ younger brother) and his wife Sophie, who are also known as the Earl and Countess of Wessex, little Louise was given the title Lady instead.

The princess title is still legally hers, and when she comes of age, she can fully adopt it if she wishes.

A Rediscovered Princess

And here’s one final princess story, that of Sarah Culberson, born in 1976. Her mother and father met in college in West Virginia, fell in love, and had Sarah, but they put her up for adoption just two days after she was born. When she was twenty-two and living in San Francisco, Sarah hired an investigator to find her birth parents. She learned that her mother, a native West Virginian, had died of cancer many years before, but that her father was a royal member of the Mende Tribe in Bumpe, Sierra Leone. He was of the line of Paramount Chief, and as his long-lost daughter, Sarah was officially a princess.

Now that she has claimed her title, Sarah’s life as a princess isn’t about horses and galas. Sierra Leone had a devastatingly long civil war, and much of her family’s village, including the school, is in shambles. Sarah has focused her efforts on raising money in the United States to send back to her tribe so they can rebuild their village and school.

MORE LIVING PRINCESSES OF THE WORLD

From tiny babies to elderly women, representing both wealthy and struggling nations, belonging to vastly different cultures and families, the princesses in this chart show us that the fluffy pink princess stereotype is just that.