6 Books About Queer Princesses for Readers of All Ages

As a child, I cherished princess tales. I do know, I do know. However books like Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, Simply Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix, and Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock enchanted me, after which in center faculty I fell laborious for The Princess Diaries collection by Meg Cabot. The want achievement was enjoyable, and I cherished studying about ladies who discovered to make use of their energy for good. As an grownup, I struggled to rekindle my love for these princess tales regardless of many superior representations of unconventional and kick-ass princesses, primarily as a result of these books all featured heterosexual romances.

Then, in 2016, I learn Audrey Coulthurst’s Of Hearth & Stars, about two princesses who fall for one another, and I fell laborious again into this sub-genre. Listed here are six books (plus two honorable mentions), from image books to grownup novels, that includes queer princesses! I hope studying them makes your queer, fantasy princess-loving coronary heart blissful!

Maiden & Princess by Daniel Haack, Isabel Galuop, and Becca Human

This can be a follow-up to the acclaimed image guide Prince & Knight, and stars, as it’s possible you’ll guess, a maiden and a princess. When a princess attends a ball the place she is anticipated to discover a husband, she slips away and strikes up a friendship—and perhaps one thing extra—with a maiden within the backyard. This can be a pretty rhyming image that’s nice for young children, and an ideal addition to the rotation of ordinary heteronormative fairy tales.

Princess Princess Ever After by Kate O’Neill

This charming and humorous all-ages graphic novel about Princess Amira, who needs to show herself as a powerful and succesful warrior when she rescues Princess Sadie from imprisonment in a tower. The 2 develop into associates as they journey all through the land, uncover the rationale behind Sadie’s imprisonment, and search to defeat the sorceress who put her there. The romance between the 2 princesses could be very candy, with a fortunately ever after that can depart readers grinning.

Of Hearth & Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

Princess Dennaleia has grown up understanding that she is going to at some point wed the prince of Mynaria, and now the time has come for her to depart her dwelling and be part of her fiancé’s courtroom. Adjusting to her new dwelling could be very tough—political unease has everybody on edge, and Mynaria has forbidden magic, so Denna should disguise her affinity for fireplace. When she is ordered to take using classes together with her betrothed’s sister, Princess Amaranthine, the 2 ladies uncover a political plot behind an assassination—and an attraction to one another. For a superb sluggish burn romance, this guide doesn’t disappoint. And search for the sequel, Of Ice & Shadows, out later this yr!

The Tiger’s Daughter by Ok Arsenault Rivera

Shefali and O-Shizuka are daughters of two opposing ruling dynasties. Shefali is descended from a nomadic nation that resides within the harsh steppes, and O-Shizuka is the niece and inheritor obvious of a colonialist and cowardly emperor. They’re fated to be associates as a result of their moms defeated an ideal evil earlier than they have been born, however now demons have returned to the land. The 2 must struggle in opposition to warring political agendas to defeat evil, and discover their manner to one another. What makes this guide stand aside is that it’s an epistolary fantasy novel, primarily instructed as a collection of letters written by Shefali to Shizuka. It’s the primary in a trilogy, so there’s extra to learn if you wish to get misplaced on this lush fantasy world!

Ladies Made from Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust

This retelling of Snow White is instructed from the factors of view of the Princess Lynet and her stepmother, Queen Mina. Mina is simply sixteen when her magician father reveals a devastating secret and whisks her away to the courtroom within the north, the place a curse has left it winter year-round. Mina finally marries the grief-stricken king, understanding that he can by no means love her the best way he cherished his spouse and adores his daughter. Princess Lynet is on the cusp of maturity when three occasions change her life: she learns the reality about her start, her father befalls an odd accident, and her beloved stepmother betrays her. Left with no selection however to flee, she leaves courtroom for the southern lands, the place she and Mina could lastly discover fact and redemption. Lynet is drawn to a younger feminine courtroom surgeon named Nadia very early on within the guide, and the 2 share a friendship that deepens into romance all through the guide.

Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins

When you desire your princess tales to be much less fantasy and have extra of a Princess Diaries vibe, then Rachel Hawkins has the proper story for you! When Millie faces a betrayal from her greatest pal and type of girlfriend, she decides that probably the most cheap factor to do is to get as distant from dwelling as attainable—so she applies to and is accepted at a boarding faculty in Scotland. She’s flummoxed to seek out that her new roommate is Flora, Princess of Scotland. At first, the ladies can’t stand one another…however then they will’t stand to be aside. However discovering a fortunately ever after with fashionable royalty is way from straightforward.

Honorable Mentions: Ash and Huntress by Malinda Lo

Though the protagonists of Malinda Lo’s first two novels aren’t princesses, I merely should point out them for 2 causes: First, Lo’s work is groundbreaking. She was one of many first folks to publish fantasy novels starring queer ladies with a mainstream writer. She paved the best way for all the fantastic books on this listing. Second, her characters are princess-adjacent! Ash is a lesbian retelling of Cinderella, starring Ash, a grief-stricken younger girl who makes a harmful cope with fairies solely to fall in love with the king’s huntress. Huntress is about two younger ladies, considered one of noble lineage, who undertake a harmful quest to carry a curse on their land. When you haven’t learn both, I extremely advocate them!