The Princess Files

by Valerie Wilding, Lucy Truman (Illustrator)

Everyone knows about the princesses in fairy tales. But this book tells us all about real princesses, and answers all the questions we might have about What is a princess? Do they all become queens? Are they all rich? How are they educated? What do they wear? Is it all fun being a
princess? It cites examples from history and present day including the most famous of recent times, Diana.

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw this on a sale, so, of course, I had to buy it for my princess-mad niece. And then, of course, I had to read it myself!

It's a look at the real lives of actual princesses, both modern and historical. I love that it's so diverse - there's everyone from the British princesses to Princess Haya of Jordan and Princess Aiko of Japan. There's even one Sotho and one Ndebele princess!

I also appreciate the emphasis that a real princess' life isn't all fairy godmothers and sparkles! It can be lonely, restrictive and hard work - something Disney forgets to tell you ;-)

One interesting thing was the royal families in exile: there is a bit on the Greek royal family, who were deposed and forced to leave Greece and make a living in other countries (although according to Wikipedia, they are now back in Greece).

The text is a bit choppy as they look at aspects of a royal life (education, clothes, duties, etc.) rather than focusing on one princess at time. (Except for Princess Diana, who gets a whole four pages dedicated to her - compared to the single photo of Princess Grace, for example.) The text is also, sadly, extremely cheesy in places. But as it's aimed at pre-teen girls, I supposed that's forgivable.

Disappointments:
* No Kate Middleton! It's a bit outdated as it was published in 2007, so there is absolutely nothing on the Duchess of Cambridge. Also, they refer to Dutch "crown princess" Maxima, although of course by now, with her mother-in-law's abdication, she is Queen Maxima. Perhaps they'll bring out a new edition (in which I suspect Kate would get at least as much space as Diana).

* No family trees! It might be a bit silly to expect this of a children's book, but I would have loved a section at the back with family trees of a few of the current royal houses.

I would recommend this to girls of about 10, so it's a bit old for my 5-year-old niece, but I hope she will enjoy the pictures for now.

(Another interesting omission is Zara Phillips (now Tindall). Although she is the Princess Royal's daughter and therefore technically a princess, she isn't officially a princess as Princess Anne chose not to give her children titles, to give them a chance at a more normal life. So the book doesn't mention her at all, which I think is a mistake, as a princess without a title is exactly the kind of interesting titbit readers of this book would enjoy.)

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute book with lots of fun facts. I would recommend it for any Princess-wanna-be!

[Rahmadiyanti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bagi sebagian orang, kerajaan di zaman modern makin tak relevan. Sebagian warga Inggris misalnya, beranggapan kalau kerajaan hanya menghabiskan uang negara. Meski begitu, kehidupan kerajaan, dengan raja-ratu pangeran-putri di dalamnya tetap membuat banyak orang penasaran. Tak heran saat Prince William dan Kate Middleton menikah, begitu meriah disambut--tak hanya oleh warga Inggris, tapi juga warga dunia (termasuk saya...).

*ini kenapa jadi serius yak? ;)*

Jadi, buku ini berisi segala hal nyata mengenai para putri kerajaan, baik masa kini maupun masa lalu. Putri-putri dari Inggris, Norwegia, Swedia, Belanda, Monaco,Jepang, Lesotho, Nepal, Yordania, Denmark, Thailand, Brunei... you name it. Kehidupan mereka, dari gaya berpakaian, sekolah, keluarga, hingga rumah mereka (Ebutet, Istana Nurul Iman, tempat tinggal Putri Sarah dari Brunei punya 1780 kamar booww + 150 Rolls Royce! Wedew!).

Girlie abis deh nih buku....

[Danielle Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a children's book that introduces many princesses of the world. Valerie Wilding dies a great job of presenting information in an easy to understand way, but still keeping it fun. Even though it's for children, it's a good one to keep around for information.

[Kiera · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book for girls that tells about the different lives of royalty in the last hundred or so years. Lots of pictures, facts, and cool stories about modern-day princesses.

[Dina Guardado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Informative.