You can probably think of at least three princesses off the top of your head. When I think of three princesses, I think of Princess Peach from Super Mario Bros., Princess Aurora from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, and Princess Merida from Disney Pixar’s Brave. However, there seems to be this stigma against princesses and being called a “princess.” The stigma is that a “princess” only thinks of herself and is a spoiled brat, to be blunt.

However, I want to challenge that stigma. I believe that being called a “princess” isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and here is the biggest reason why:

Princesses choose duty over desire.

Although it would’ve been nice for princesses to marry for love like in Disney movies, that was very rarely the case. Female rulers were told who to marry and when. Princesses were used to make alliances for their families and for their countries.

Think of it like in the HBO series Game of Thrones. The daughters of rich houses and rich kingdoms were told who to marry in order to gain alliances and wealth for their houses. One example of making an alliance using a princess in Game of Thrones was Daenerys Targaryen, who was forced to marry Khal Drogo in order to gain an army for her brother to take back the throne. Another example from Game of Thrones was Sansa Stark, the daughter of the Lord of Winterfell, Eddard Stark, who was arranged to marry the future king of the Seven Kingdoms, Joffrey Baratheon, in order to make an alliance between House Stark and House Baratheon.

The role of a princess was a very noble and important one. Most of the time, princesses had no choice in who they will marry. However, they chose to put their country or their family before their own desires. If you ask me, this makes princesses noble and courageous. I would love to be as noble and courageous as they were.