Be inspired to make your own happy ending – even if Prince Harry is taken.
Katy Birchall went to Manchester University where she studied English Literature and Linguistics and then Post-1900 Literature, Theories and Cultures.
Katy is the author of The It Girl series as well as Secrets of a Teenage Heiress, also published in 2018.
‘Whatever comes,’ she said, ‘cannot alter one thing. If I am a princess in rags and tatters, I can be a princess inside. It would be easy to be a princess if I were dressed in cloth of gold, but it is a great deal more of a triumph to be one all the time when no one knows it.’
A Little Princess Frances Hodgson Burnett
How do you define a princess?
A pitch-perfect singing voice? Fluent in conversing with woodland creatures? Naturally voluminous locks that always float perfectly behind one shoulder in a sweeping breeze?
Thinking of the princesses today, that won’t do. It’s just not really … enough.
Sure, Diana, Princess of Wales, had an iconic haircut, but it’s not the first thing that comes to mind when we remember her. And what about that other Princess Diana, aka Wonder Woman? She hardly has time to sing while she’s leading an army into battle against evil.
What about where she comes from? Does that make a princess? There’s got to be some kind of running theme, right?
No, that doesn’t pin it down either.
There are, of course, those born into the role, like Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Leia, but then there’s also Princess Grace of Monaco, who was a famous Hollywood actress, and Princess Lalla Salma, a computer engineer.
Fine.
So, is it what they own?
Nope, that’s not it.
Moana set sail with a chicken, not a crown, and you’re more likely to see Princess Sirindhorn of Thailand polishing her camera lens than any jewels.
This book tells the stories of the coolest modern princesses around. They are mostly real, sometimes fictional, and all exceptional.
When you’re done reading, put this book down and go step into your own regal role. Princesses are made, not born – and I have a feeling you’ll make a good one.
‘With fame comes opportunity, but it also includes responsibility – to advocate and share, to focus less on glass slippers and more on pushing through glass ceilings. And, if I’m lucky enough, to inspire.’
Meghan Markle
Once upon a time…
… a young girl named Meghan sat down to write a letter.
She had been watching television in her classroom when a dishwasher soap advertisement flashed up on to the screen. ‘Women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans,’ the commercial proclaimed.
Meghan could not get it out of her head.
‘In the world of this commercial,’ she sighed, ‘why is it just women in the kitchen, washing pots and pans?’ When she got home, she told her father that the wording had bothered her. ‘Well,’ he smiled, ‘you have a voice. Perhaps it is time to use it.’
As Meghan stuck stamps to four different letters, she felt nervous. One of the letters was to the soap manufacturer, one was to civil-rights lawyer Gloria Allred, one to news anchor Linda Ellerbee, and the last one was to then-First Lady, Hillary Clinton. She slid the letters into the postbox and hoped that one of them might hear what she had to say.
All of them heard. They wrote back, inspired by Meghan’s conviction in her beliefs. The soap company changed its tagline: ‘People all over America,’ the advertisement announced a few weeks later, ‘are fighting greasy pots and pans.’
Meghan realised that big change could be sparked even by the smallest of actions. Standing up. Speaking out. Putting pen to paper. And she didn’t stop there.
When Meghan grew up to become a talented actress, she understood that along with red carpets, fancy gowns and flashing lights, fame came with the opportunity to make an impact. She spoke up for those who couldn’t be heard.
No wonder that when a handsome young prince met her, he felt he had to improve his jokes to get her attention. His efforts were not in vain and they happily fell in love.
For from the top of a palace, her voice will be all the louder.
‘Be the hero or heroine of your own story, of your own life.’
Auli’i Cravalho, voice of Disney’s Moana
Once upon a time…