The Less Known Fairytale Princesses

A post for Tell A Fairy Tale Day 2026.

In this world of the “Big Three” Princesses of Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty, we forget how many other fairytale princesses/heroines exist. Sure, most remember Beauty, the Little Mermaid, Rapunzel or Red Riding Hood, but what about the others? Most won’t take a chance on some without knowing the original fairy tale. The champion of all fairytale princesses, Disney, has all but abandoned traditional storytelling.

I’m writing this post to fix this injustice!

As I started writing fairy tales, I was surprised at how many different fairytale princesses exist. This post will point you at the original fairytales. I will also have links to other posts, one will take a deeper dive into two I’ve championed in my novels (Penta and Helga).

So broaden your mind and imagination and give some time to other worthy plucky heroines of times past!

How about a princess who is what she claims to be – real. The Princess and the Pea: https://andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/hersholt/ThePrincessOnThePea_e.html

A princess and a frog, but not the one you’re familiar with. The Well at the End of the World:

https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/garg/2022/04/25/the-well-of-the-worlds-end-more-than-meets-the-eye

The tiniest of princesses but still resilient. Thumbelina:

https://andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/hersholt/Thumbelina_e.html

The Plain Princess by Phyllis McGinley (This one is still under copyright, not free)

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Plain-Princess-Phyllis-McGinley/dp/0397301073

The girl who overcame treachery. The Goose Girl:

Link: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2591/pg2591-images.html#link2H_4_0015

The long story of an ugly princess who learns beauty isn’t at the center of virtue. The Green Serpent:

Link: https://surlalunefairytales.com/book.php?id=36&tale=886