Princess Tropes - TV Tropes (2024)

Once Upon a Time, in The Kingdom of Indexes, the King and Queen had a beautiful daughter, whom they named Princess Tropes.

Okay, not quite, but this index is about the various kinds of princesses, and tropes associated with them.

Heck, some tropes have "princess" in the name, even when they don't have anything to do with a princess (such as Mafia Princess and Make Way for the Princess), just because the word adds something to the names.

Types of Princesses:

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• Alien Princess: A princess from another planet.
• The Chief's Daughter: The daughter of a native tribe's leader.
• Daddy's Little Villain: A villain has a daughter/niece/granddaughter/etc. who takes after her guardian, and can often be a princess.
• Fallen Princess: A girl in a high position finds herself in a lower one.
• Good Princess, Evil Queen: Princesses are good and heroic, so they are contrasted with a queen who is villainous.
• Honorary Princess: A princess neither by blood nor marriage.
• Jungle Princess: Rules over the animals and natives in a jungle environment.
• Lady of War: A princess or high class lady that kicks butt, and gracefully too.
• Mystical Waif: A mystical or Magical Girl that is often a princess.
• Ojou: A girl from a high class family, but not actually royalty.
• Onee-sama: A high class lady is essentially a princess for the other characters with grace, beauty, and poise. A princess can also be an older sister to other younger princesses or younger princes.
• Peerless Love Interest: A lady who is like royalty.
• Politically-Active Princess: A princess who isn't afraid to involve herself in politics or diplomacy.
• Pretty Princess Powerhouse: A princess who appears soft and delicate but can fight as well or better than her guards.
• Princess Classic: The archetypical delicate, innocent, sweet, and beautiful princess.
• Princess Protagonist: The heroine or main character of the story is a princess
• Princess in Rags: A princess or high class lady that is now poor, but in denial.
• Rebellious Princess: A princess (or similarly high class lady) who won't follow what is expected of her.
• Royal Brat: A princess is given everything and expects everything to go her way.
• Sheltered Aristocrat: A princess is pampered and sheltered from the harsh realities of the world..
• Tomboy Princess: A princess who is a Tomboy.
• Villainous Princess: A princess who is a villainous character.
• Warrior Prince: A princess (since the trope name isn't gender-fixed) who can do battle.
• Well, Excuse Me, Princess!: A princess or lady who acts snarky toward her friend or love interest.
• Winter Royal Lady: A royal lady who takes on a winter themed title and persona.
• World's Most Beautiful Woman: She's often a princess.

Tropes related to Princesses

• And Now You Must Marry Me: A princess may be forced to marry, especially if it means her captor will become part of the royal family.
• Arranged Marriage: A Princess will sometimes be arranged to be married to a prince for political, diplomatic, or other important reasons.
• Big Fancy Castle: This is often the home for princesses.
• Costume Porn: Beautiful and detailed costuming, as befitting someone of her station.
• Cool Crown: Usually a princess will wear a dainty tiara.
• Damsel in Distress: Princesses are often these.
• Damsel out of Distress: The damsel in distress who isn't.
• Dragons Prefer Princesses: Dragons like to kidnap princesses.
• Ermine Cape Effect: A princess wearing her fancy clothes all the time.
• Everything's Better with Sparkles: Sparkles make princesses even more pretty.
• Fairytale Wedding Dress: A princess best get married in one.
• Friend to All Living Things: Animals flock around a princess, who can often speak to them.
• Girl in the Tower: Captured princesses tend to get put in towers.
• The Good Kingdom: Since kingdoms always have royalty, they always have at least one princess.
• Graceful Ladies Like Purple: It symbolizes both a princess' femininity and royalty.
• Gratuitous Princess: More princesses than is strictly necessary for the story or setting.
• Hereditary Wedding Dress: Wedding dresses that run in the royal family.
• High-Heel Power: Upper-class attire comes with upper-class footwear.
• Hypnotize the Captive: Princesses are sometimes hypnotized when they are kidnapped.
• Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: The princess can still handle herself well in a fight even in her royal attire.
• Magical Girl: Most princesses are this.
  • Cute Witch: Some princesses are this, as it serves as the original archetype for Magical Girl princesses.
  • Magical Girl Queenliness Test: A Magical Girl princess must prove she can also be a queen.
  • Magical Girl Warrior: One of the basic archetypes of a Warrior Princess, basically the end result when you mix a Princess and a Superhero together.
• Nobility Hennin: A princess (or other noble lady) stands out by wearing a hennin.
• Pimped-Out Dress: Princesses are put in dresses with fancy trimmings.
• Princesses Prefer Pink: Princesses often wear pink in fiction, since Pink Means Feminine. Also qualifies as a Pink Heroine from time to time.
• Princess for a Day: When a woman dresses up as an upper-class person.
• Princess Phase: The time in a young girl's life when she idolizes all things related to princesses.
• Princesses Rule: Princesses often are absolute rulers, rather than heirs, in fiction.
• Rags to Royalty: A peasant ends up royalty, by either birth or granting.
• Regal Ringlets: Curled hairs at the front of the head, signifying a lady's high social class.
• Requisite Royal Regalia: Crowns and ermine capes, although usually more delicate and dainty than regalia on other characters.
• Royal Blood: Power inherent in royal birth.
• Royal School: Where you learn how to be a princess.
• Rule of Glamorous: Anything that makes a princess more beautiful is acceptable.
• Save the Princess: When the Excuse Plot is rescuing a VIP, a princess is the most likely person.
• Standard Hero Reward: Marriage to a princess is part of this.
• Stock Light-Novel Calamity Princess: A Light Novel heroine with prestigious beauty and destructive magic.
• Suddenly Suitable Suitor: A character can now marry someone thought to be below that character's station before.
• True Blue Femininity: Princesses often wear blue, even now.

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