SOLVED. YA Fantasy. Girl adopted by knight and told she's the lost princess, goes to castle to claim throne. Spoilers ahead. [s]

[Grace]

I read this book around 2012. It's fantasy YA and the protagonist is a teenage girl who was raised by a knight and told that she's actually a princess and was sent into hiding before her parents (the king and queen) died, and that there is a false princess impersonating her in the palace for her protection. The knight raises her as a secret princess, but when the knight dies she goes to the castle to claim her throne, only to find that the "fake" princess thinks she is the REAL princess. Turns out there are a whole bunch of fake princesses in the dungeon. There's a whole plot that I don't really remember, but in the end it turns out that the dying queen got a whole bunch of orphans and gave them to random knights and said to raise them like a princess to give them a better life or something like that... then in the end they rule the kingdom by committee??? I also remember one specific line where the protagonist calls the other princess "a doll who waves" when she goes out on the balcony so people can see her and prove she's still alive.

Also this is a random detail but I think the princesses all have special skills. Like one is good at math, one is good at diplomacy, etc.

Thank you so much for your help! I appreciate it.

[Becca]

Palace of Mirrors by Margaret Peterson Haddix

[Grace]

Oh my gosh that's it! Thank you SO MUCH!