We’ve all heard of the beloved Disney princesses from the magical fairytales; dressed in gowns and destined to be something special from birth. But what about the ladies from the real world with dresses not so fancy but stories just as special?
Princess Ariel, our favorite Little Mermaid, wasn’t fond of the underwater royal lifestyle. She’d rather be a human on land with everybody else. Rani Lakshmibai was just like Ariel – minus the tail. She didn’t like being royal, either. Lakshmibai’s life was missing her mother as well, who had died a few years after Lakshmibai was born. This resulted in a mass amount of father-daughter time, which worked out well in Lakshmibai’s favor because her father devalued the social constructs India had set up in that era, claiming that women were meant to make clothes, clean the houses, and be nice and pretty. She was taught archery, swordsmanship, gunmanship, and how to read and write. Eventually, Lakshmibai became one of the most powerful women in India. However, she still had an arranged marriage and was wed to an older man. The marriage ended tragically when her husband died of a broken heart, but it seemed as if the revival of Lakshmibai’s warrior days was written in her destiny. When her husband died, she adopted a son to take over his thrown, but found out later that the British East India Company was planning to try to overthrow him because he had no legitimate royal blood. Not taking anyone’s ludicrousness, Rani Lakshmibai revolted against the British and began a massacre. The British were stronger, however, and plotted retaliation. So with the understanding that she may not be able to defeat a prepared British army, she evacuated the people of Jhansi who didn’t wish to be a part of a rebellion, rallied her mutineers and continued fighting. In the end, Rani Lakshmibai died in combat. She may not have gotten an ideal ending, complete with a beautiful land-native husband like Ariel, but she did become the symbol of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and that’s just as valuable as a wedding dress.
Princess Tiana was the first black princess to be brought to the Disney family, and the woman behind the character made just as big a splash in the world as Tiana did. Leah Chase was one of the first young black women to work in a restaurant, working in the French Quarter in New Orleans at 18 years old. She was straight out of high school, which she was only able to attend by leaving her immediate family to live with relatives in New Orleans. Not many years after her first day, she migrated to her boyfriend’s (Edgar “Dooky” Chase Jr.) family restaurant, Dooky Chase. She worked there for many years and eventually, her and her boyfriend took over the business and Leah infused it with her Creole roots. New Orleans was still deeply segregated at this time – in and around the 1950’s – and Dooky Chase was one of the only places where people of all races could come together and discuss the Civil Rights movement, in which Leah was a great big part of herself. Leah’s generosity, kindness, independence, and evident love for what she does drew the makers of Disney’s Princess and the Frog to her and inspired the first black Disney Princess. Dooky Chase is still open today and is one of the most famous, visited, and respected restaurants in the country.
We know Pocahontas as a beautiful Native American who could jump gracefully down waterfalls and the one that saved John Smith’s life while risking getting disowned on by her whole tribe. Her story ended in a happily ever after. However, the real Pocahontas’ life was unfortunately not as sweet. Pocahontas was actually a nickname for “naughty/playful one”. Her real name was Matoaka and while she did save John Smith’s life in both reality and the movie by putting her head before his right before his execution, they were never even romantically involved in the long run. Pocahontas was kidnapped by the English for a year and a half, before dying of an unknown illness, because they wanted ransom for tools and such that they claimed her father stole from them during their visit. During her kidnapping, she was manipulated into believing that her tribe had forgotten about her and didn’t love her anymore. She was also wed to John Rolfe and was baptised with a new name, Rebecca. She also ran into John Smith within this time, but refused to speak to him. While she was an extremely skilled and nurturing young girl in both the real and fictional world, her real life was the one full of extreme hardship and, unfortunately, didn’t even last that long as she died at 21. Either way, her character in both realms was strong and inspiring, and worthy of the Disney Princess title.
You never need to have a crown to be a Princess. Evidently, the best ones didn’t even know they were going to be one, which is worth keeping in mind.
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