The Sisterhood of Modern Princesses

Old Skool Disney has done a disservice to the modern princesses. They aren’t sitting in the castles sipping tea and trying on dresses. They’re modern working women who put themselves out there day in and day out to serve their family and their country. Since everyone is interested in royals now that there’s a really big wedding, let’s take a look at just how amazing they are.

We’ll start with the Brits. For the sake of brevity, we’ll deal with the present, working members.

Obviously, Queen Elizabeth II herself is a total badass. She was a mechanic in WW2 and she’s ruled for 70 years, navigated countless trials and tribulations skillfully especially when you consider at the time of her birth, no one expected she’d ever be queen and even when it became clear she would be, she had minimal formal education. ‘Nough said.

HRH The Princess Royal (Anne) thwarted a kidnapping attempt only a few weeks after her own wedding. She’s a very underappreciated member of the British Royal Family. In spite of being pushed further and further down the line, she’s one of the hardest working royals and paved the way for divorcees and marriage in the royal family.

HRH The Countess of Wessex (Sophie) another severely underappreciated member of the Windsor clan, Sophie had a career in public relations even up to 3 years after her marriage. Now she does a lot of great work for various charities, including joining a cycling challenge from Holyrood Palace to Buckingham Palace in 2016 for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

HRH The Duchess of Cornwall (Camilla) has a somewhat (okay very) checkered past. BUT she’s also put up with A Lot of Shit for Love. Now, in spite of everything she’s been put through, she does a lot of awesome work for literacy, women’s healthy issues like osteoporosis and is now a Privy Council member, the first British princess by marriage to have that position. Plus, she graciously agreed to not be styled Princess of Wales, even though that’s still technically what she is.

HRH the Duchess of Cambridge (Catherine) is, until now, most people’s clear favorite of the Brits-who-aren’t-queen-yet. But, a little recognized fact? She’ll be the first British Queen to have a university degree (oh yeah, remember, she met Wills at St. Andrews…). She’s also done a ton of good work for mental health, most recently for mothers, and worked to support hospices for children. Not only that, she’s had every microdetail of her and her children’s lives picked apart, and she’s dealt with it graciously and with style.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex has been through so much. I’m not just talking about the constant scrutiny and racist nonsense she’s dealt with since the world found out she’d dared to fall in love with Prince Harry, even from her own “family.” She’s educated, bright, and well-spoken. She could have just been a pretty actress who did her thing and got paid. Instead, she became an activist. She worked with women all over the world, trying to empower them to move past old systems and lift themselves up. Has she been a paragon? No. As with all rumors, I’m sure the truth lies somewhere in the middle. But no one deserves what she’s been through just for falling in love. No one.

Louise, Beatrice, and Eugenie are all very low-key, it all use their positions to do what good they can wherever they can. Little Charlotte is too young to do much but I have high hopes for the sassy little Cambridge.

Now, onto the Rest of Europe.

Crown Princess Victoria: you read that right. She’s the future Queen of Sweden. She was the first Swedish Princess to become heir apparent rather than presumptive (there’s a difference)—her daughter, the adorable Estelle, was the second. The Crown Princess Victoria Fund works to help young people with functional disabilities or chronic illnesses enjoy recreational activities like horseback riding and camping.

Queen Letizia of Spain (she was Princess of Asturias until a few years ago, so she counts) has a master’s degree in audiovisual journalism and worked in the US covering major events, including broadcasting live from Ground Zero following 9/11. She gave all that up to marry Felipe and ultimately become the first commoner to become Queen. She works as a Special Ambassador for Nutrition for the UN.

One of my personal faves, Crown Princess Mary (wife of the Crown Prince of Denmark) had a successful marketing career before she ran into her husband at a pub during the 2000 Olympics. On top of having 4 kids, she works on causes like anti-bullying, research and science, and anti-obesity.

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, another fave of mine (side note: she could probably give Meghan tips on dealing with crazy bio family dramz. Seriously. Wiki it. NUTS). Anyway. Prior to randomly meeting a future king (as one does), she received her Master’s degree in Economics and worked in finance, reaching a VP position in several difference companies. Now, Max is one of the few members of ANY royal family to be an open supporter for gay rights, and she serves as UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development.

Princess Angela of Liechtenstein – while we adore Meghan, let’s be clear: she was not the first princess of color to marry into a royal family. That title goes to Angela. A successful designer and graduate of Parsons, she keeps a pretty low profile because, well, Liechtenstein is kinda small and her husband is the spare. But still. She went there first.

The next generation of princesses are growing up fast. Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, heir apparent, like I do, has an IB diploma, has received military training and is attending Oxford. Princess Leonora of Spain, is currently attending the same IB school in Wales that Elisabeth did, along with Princess Alexia of the Netherlands. Alexia’s big sis, Catharina-Amalia, is currently on a gap year and has refused the allowance she’s entitled to as an adult and won’t accept it until she’s ready to be a working royal because she wants to feel as though she’s earned it.