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Princess

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For other uses, see Princess (disambiguation).

Princess is the feminine form of prince (Latin princeps, meaning principal citizen), using the 'ess' ending as in 'waitress' or 'actress'. 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.

As women have slowly gained more autonomy through European history, the title of princess has become simply the feminine equivalent 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. For an example of when "princess" still indicates essential slavery to a prince, see the book Princess, about life amongst the wives of the Saudi royal family.

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.

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. It is from this usage that the relatively new slang term of "princess" connotes a pampered and selfish girl or young person. The term was used in this last way to describe a character played by actress Molly Ringwald in the adolescent film The Breakfast Club, and Target stores now carry T-shirts with the word "Princess" for people who want to advertise themselves as demanding of attention or luxury.

Princess is also a popular pet name.

Historical princesses

Present day princesses

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

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