Real Princesses

Two centuries ago, commoners were not permitted to join and mix, let alone marry, with royalty. The monarchy is closely guarding the mystic and charm of its existence and allowing commoners to peep at their precious court would dispel the magic that shroud their exalted circle,  but the story became different as the 21st century approaches.

In order to survive and to continue the existence of the monarchy, royalty slowly adopted the idea of lowering barriers through the inclusion of commoners. This is their way of responding to the call of times to become more in touch with their subjects.  Now as the modern world changed the meaning of royalty, commoners largely dominated the royal court of Europe that you can hardly distinguished who are princesses born of royal blood and who are merely impostors.

Here, I allotted enough space for pretty and real European princesses born of royal blood. Most of them are related to each other through the intermarriages of the children of King Christian IX of Denmark and Queen Victoria of England.

Princess Madelaine of Sweden

Princess Madelaine of Sweden is the youngest daughter of King Carl XVI Gustav and Queen Silvia. She was engaged in 2010 to a Swedish lawyer but called off the engagement several months later when the princess found out the infidelity of his fiance. Not sure if she returned the heart-shaped diamond engagement ring to him.

A closer look at Princess Madelaine

Princess Beatrice  of York

Princess Beatrice of York is the eldest daughter of Prince Andrew, the Duke of York and the second son of Queen Elizabeth II. Bea is currently listed as the 5th in line of succession to the British throne. She finished a Bachelor of Arts degree at London University.

Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg

Princess Alexandra is the only daughter of the reigning Grandduke of Luxembourg, Henri. She is quite protected by her parents from gossip because no news about her personal life passed the newspaper and magazine.

Princess Alexandra of Hanover with her mother, Princess Caroline of Monaco

Princess Alexandra of Hanover is the only child of Princess Caroline of Monaco and Prince Ernst August of Hanover (not known if the two already separated). She is the only grandchild, so far, by the late Prince Rainier that carries a Princess title. Until Prince Albert II sired legitimate children with his wife, Princess Charlene, his oldest sister, Princess Caroline will be the Hereditary Princess of Monaco.

Princess Eugenie of York

Princess Eugenie of York is the youngest daughter of Prince Andrew of York, said to be the favourite son of Queen Elizabeth II. Eugenie has an older sister, Princess Beatrice. Their parents, Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew divorced in 1996 months before the divorce of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, had finalized. Eugenie was named after Queen Eugenia of Spain who was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

Princess Tatjana of Liechtenstein

Princess Tatjana is the only daughter of the reigning ruler of Liechtenstein, Prince Hans-Adam II. Her mother is Countess Marie Aglae. She is married to a Baron in 1999 and had seven children together.

Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark

Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark is the youngest daughter of King Constantine II of Greece and Queen Anna Marie. She was born in 1983, ten years after Greece abolished the monarchy. Her father was exiled following a military take over in 1969, the family settled in Italy and later in England where King Constantine established his own business. Princess Theodora finished a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theather Arts at one of the ivy league of schools in the United States, Brown University, she had studied fashion designing too at the prestigious Central St. Martins College of Art and Design in London. She expressed interest in film making and appeared on television soap opera like the Bold and the Beautiful.

Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein

Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein is the former Duchess Sophie of Bavaria. She is the daughter of Prince Max, the Duke of Bavaria and her mother is a Swedish Countess, Elisabeth Douglas. Her father is a great grandson of King Ludwig III of Bavaria. Sophie married the Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein, Alois, on July 3, 1993.

Princess Cristina of Spain

Princess Cristina of Spain is the youngest daughter of King Juan Carlos of Spain and Queen Sophia. Through her parents, Cristina is the fourth generation of Queen Victoria of England and King Christian IX of Denmark. Her mother is a former Princess of Greece and the oldest sister of King Constantine II.

Among the royals listed above, Princess Cristina and Princess Theodora are the only princesses who have parents that are both royalty. Theodora's parents are Constantine II, the ex-king of Greece and Queen Anna Marie, the younger sister of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. Anna Marie and Constantine are both great grandchildren of King Christian IX of Denmark. While King Juan Carlos of Spain and Queen Sophia are third cousin through Queen Victoria of England.

Her annoying frizzy hair

Why the Duchess of Cambridge could not do something to properly comb her frizzy hair? It is so irritating to look every time she appear in public with her old-fashioned dresses and locks that's so untidy, now I am not sure why the media continue claiming she is gorgeous when her hair does not speak for itself. The strands are flying everywhere and it seemed badly dishevelled and very dry.

It seems she needs to be lectured what proper grooming is all about

She badly needed a good hairstylist

She looked 10 years older with her hairstyle

And my God she is not pretty!!If this is the definition of a pretty face then I wonder where the ugly fits in. Can the media be more realistic and not blinded with the role this woman will assume someday?

Seriously speaking, I am not into this woman and so confused why half of the public is smitten with her when she does not reflect what glamour is all about. Her legs are not gorgeous, her hair is so damn ugly and her fashion taste is so dull and boring. I suspect, people just love her for the role she will assume someday and because she is a wife of a Prince people concluded she is extremely fascinating but when you look at it closely there's nothing to fuss about this commoner. 

She is far from the class and elegance of other commoners who married European princes: Mary of Denmark, Maxima of the Netherlands, Charlene of Monaco and Letezia of Spain they epitomize what glamour and elegance is all about.

Princess Ingrid of Norway

Three generation of the Norwegian royalty

From left: King Harald V (second cousin of Queen Elizabeth II of Britain), his son and successor, Crown Prince Haakon and Princess Ingrid Alexandra

The pretty daughter of Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, celebrates her 8th birthday last January 21. The little Princess is second in line to the Norwegian throne after her father. Norway follows an equal line of succession that allows eldest child, despite of gender, to ascend the throne and would not be pushed by a younger brother anymore.

This law on succession took effect in 1990 and only to the present children of the royals, so Prince Haakon who has an elder sister, Princess Martha Louise, will still be the heir-apparent of King Harald V. Princess Ingrid Alexandra has a younger brother, Prince Magnus. Ingrid will be the first female to ascend the Norwegian throne.

Princess Ingrid served as one of the little bridesmaids at the wedding of her godmother, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, in 2010 at Stockholm, Sweden. She has a half-brother, Marius, a son of her mother, Mette-Merit, from a previous relationship.

Is She Barren?

Kate Middleton (I just love calling her with her birth name than Duchess of Cambridge) must concede to the fact that her life is no longer hers. 

The moment she accepted her fate to be with Prince William, she must understand the reality that life in royalty is no longer private. Now the public treated her just like a commodity, debating her new clothes, her new shoes and endlessly talking about the next fashion she will be embracing on her next public appearance. I am wondering if she can really handle the stress and tension in the future. Well, I hope she can.

Early this year, people could not wait to see her walk-down-the-aisle at Westminster Abbey, debates include the speculations of what design of bridal dress she will be wearing, who will design it and how the gown would look like in her slim figure. Then came the never-ending talk of where the couple would spend their honeymoon. Then the US and Canada joint tour where the public closely followed her hairstyle, the number of clothes she wore and the recycled jeans she donned.

Few months later, the people wanted her to get pregnant. Speculations of whether she is pregnant or not, or what months her belly would swell, dominated the tabloid. Andrew Morton, the biographer of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, even went on to say that Kate "must" get pregnant this year, as if she is an automatic robot, or else she will be defying the royal tradition of getting pregnant within the year of marriage. Then the month of December came. With no sign of pregnancy or whatsoever. 

Is Kate getting pressured with all these nonsense expectations from her as if she is not a human being? Why on earth people pushed her to get pregnant as if she is nothing but a brood mare, that's so ridiculous to think. But that's the reality of being in the royal spotlight. Diana had experienced it in the past which she pronounced as "unbearable". Kate can handle it since she had been with Prince William longer than Diana with Charles. 

But yes, me too, is wondering why she is still not pregnant after eight months of marriage. Is she barren? Next year, around February, Prince William will be dispatched to Falkland in Argentina for six weeks and Kate will be left behind. So it is impossible for her to get pregnant around that time. If she is barren, well, I doubt if William will follow what King Henry VIII had done to Catherine of Aragon---divorcing her in order to find a new wife that could give him an heir. Anyway, Prince Harry is next in line.