Princesses have been around for a long time. How many of the following have you heard of?  

Hatshepsut of Egypt, about 1508 B.C. to 1458 B.C.  

We don’t have any real-life photos of this princess. She lived in Thebes, Egypt. She was the oldest daughter of King Thutmose I. Women didn’t often rule Egypt back then. Hatshepsut got around that custom. She ruled on behalf of her infant son. Eventually, she declared herself Pharaoh. 

Theodora, Empress of the Byzantine Empire, A.D. 497 to A.D. 548. 

Theodora was married to Emperor Justinian I. Some people think she did more ruling than he did. Theodora created laws that protected women.  

Sister Princesses  

Mary Tudor, Princess of England, 1516 to 1558. Mary didn’t marry into queendom. She became the first powerful queen of England through what some might call stubbornness! A Catholic, she earned her nickname, Bloody Mary, by persecuting Protestant Christians in England. Elizabeth Tudor, Princess of England, A.D. 1533 to A.D. 1603. Bloody Mary did not want to pass the throne to her Protestant half-sister, Elizabeth. She had Elizabeth locked up in the Tower of London to prevent it! But Mary didn’t get her way. Elizabeth became queen after Mary’s death. At the time, Elizabeth was 25.  

Marie Antoinette, Princess of Hapsburg, 1755 to 1793.  

Lavish clothes. Jewels. Parties. Gambling. Marie Antoinette famously loved them all. She married the heir to the French throne. But she and her husband died humble deaths. The people of France rebelled and executed them both.  

Cixi, Empress Dowager of China, 1835 to 1908.  

Cixi (SUH-shee) was married to Emperor Xianfeng. They had a son. After the emperor died, their son inherited the throne. He was only six. Much like Hatshepsut, Cixi put herself in charge. She ruled China for 47 years.  

Recommended Reading: For more about royalty, see The Light Princess by George MacDonald.