Warrior princess

In fictional works, the character type warrior princesses refers to a strong female personality of royal background, determined in pursuit of her goals and often eager to take on typical "man's work" like fighting wars or performing manual labour to accomplish those goals. The warrior princess stands in contrast to the "damsel in distress" stock character.

Historical examples

Actual female royalty participating in combat with the knowledge and consent of their government has historically been extremely rare. While rarely female nobles have accompanies armies and perhaps aided in their command, direct physical combat was usually seen as unseemly and improper for women.

A rare example is Princess Pingyang. At the time the daughter of a Duke, she raised and commanded her own army in the revolt against the Sui Dynasty. Later, her father would become Emperor Gaozu. Artemisia I of Caria was a Greek Ionian Queen allied with Xerxes and commanded five ships of her own; though her actions in the battle are questioned by some historians, it is said that Xerxes commented after the battle, a Persian loss, that "my men have turned into women and my women into men" in compliment to Artemisia's performance. The Spartan princess Arachidamia she is said to have fought Pyrrhus (of the phrase "pyrrhic victory") with a group of Spartan females under her command, and killed several soldiers before perishing, though little else is known about her.

Mythological examples

Besides the figures of the Amazons, whose princesses appeared in Greek legends, various other warrior princesses have appeared in literature: Belphoebe and Britomart in Edmund Spenser's "The Faerie Queene", Bradamante in "Orlando Furioso", and Camilla in the "Aeneid".

In Hindu mythology, Chitrāngadā, wife of Arjuna was the commander of her father's armies.

In Greek mythology, the goddess Athena, whose father Zeus is the king of Olympus, is a warrior who champions the warrior king Odysseus and the Greeks in Homer's Iliad.

In British mythology, Queen Cordelia fought off several contenders for her throne by personally leading the army in its battles.

Modern examples

Literature

*Kadiya, one of the three Princesses of Ruwenda from the "Trillium series" by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Julian May, and Andre Norton, has been explicitly called a "warrior princess" on many occasions by other characters, which is also quite appropriate considering her straightforward and determined nature.
*Though never called a princess, Éowyn of "The Lord of the Rings" is the niece of King Théoden and the sister of Éomer, who later succeeds their uncle. She disguises herself as a warrior and kills the leader of the Ringwraiths. She later marries a prince.
*Elayne Trakand one of the characters in the Wheel of Time books by Robert Jordan. Elayne was the daughter-heir and is now queen of the nation of Andor and often disregards her own safety in many situations in order to win a confrontation.
*Margaret of Urbs, aka The Black Flame, in the first part ("Dawn Of Flame") of the post-apocalyptic novel by Stanley G. Weinbaum, where a parallel is established between this character and the warrior queen, Semiramis.

Comics

*Wonder Woman, is also known as Princess Diana of the Amazons, has long played a warrior role in DC Comics.
*Princess Projectra is a princess in the future of DC with illusionary powers.
*Storm of the X-Men is the daughter of a princess of an African tribe and thus a princess herself inherited.
*In the DC Comics' New Teen Titans, sisters Starfire and Blackfire are alien warrior princesses of the planet Tamaran who can fly, have super strength, are damage resistant, and shoot energy beams.
*The Amalgam Comics' fusion of Starfire and Shatterstar: Shatterstarfire, is similarly a warrior princess who has the above abilities and also fights with a sword.
*Lilandra and Deathbird, sisters of the Shi'ar Empire, were once princesses and strong warriors, of Marvel Comics' X-Men.
*Zeetha is the lost princess of the lost tribe of Zifander in the webcomic Girl Genius. She is a fierce warrior and a tutor to the title character.

Video games

These video game characters are, or developed into, warrior princesses.
*Princess Zelda: Starting off as a damsel in distress in "The Legend of Zelda", the first appearance of Zelda in a warrior role was in the American cartoon. In the games, she first took on a warrior role in "Ocarina of Time" and has continued into every game thereafter. Zelda is first playable in "Super Smash Bros. Melee", along with transforming into her alter ego Sheik. Recently, Zelda has been joined by other warrior princess figures in the series, most notably her ally Midna, with whom Zelda shares the eponymous title "Twilight Princess".
*Princess Kitana of the "Mortal Kombat" gaming series is the deposed princess who also enters the tournament. She fights with bladed fans, and is often just as brutal as other characters.
*Princess Elena of the "Street Fighter" series is a princess of an African tribe, and a martial artist practitioner of the art of Capoeira. She also holds a PhD in medicine.
*Queen Catherine Ironfist from the old Might and Magic universe and her remote Ashan counterpart, Queen Isabel Griffin, both from the "Heroes of Might and Magic" series.
*Lady Lyndis of Caelin aka Lyn from "Fire Emblem" is the princess and last survivor of the Lorca tribe from the Sacae plains. She sets out to claim her right to the throne of Caelin (her mother, Madelyn, is the daughter of Lord Hausen, the current marquess), and later to help her friends (and possible romantic suitors) Eliwood of Pherae and Hector of Ostia to fight the corrupted Black Fang.
*In Tales of the Abyss, one of the playable characters, Natillia, is the princess of the Kimlasca kingdom.
*In the Sonic franchise, Blaze the Cat, is the princess of another dimension and has firey combat abilities.
*In Odin Sphere, all three of the female playable characters are princesses of different nations.
*Lady Sia of "Lady Sia" is the game's protagonist. She's a skilled sword-fighter, magic-wielder and shapeshifter.
*Princess Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca (Ashe) of "Final Fantasy XII" is heir to the throne of Dalmasca (thought to have committed suicide after the death of her family and invasion of her land) and one of the game's main protagonists. In hiding she changes her name, founds a resistance faction, and eventually attempts to overthrow the Archadian rule. By default she wields a sword, is adept at magic, and is portrayed throughout the story as tough, smart, determined and a bit aloof.
*Noa of "Legend of Legaia" is the princess of Conkram who fights the Mist and its servants to free her world from evil.

Film

*Guinevere, the legendary queen of King Arthur, is portrayed by Keira Knightley in the 2004 film "King Arthur" as a Woad princess who leads her army into battle against the Saxons.

Television

*Xena: Portrayed by Lucy Lawless in the series "", Xena fought with a variety of weapons, most notably the chakram. She was once a notorious warlord; the result of straying away from her original path of goodness: defending her homeland, to the path of darkness due to a deadly betrayal by (a fictionalized version of) Julius Caesar. On a seemingly unstoppable rampage, she destroyed anything (or anyone) who stood in her way. But after seeing the error of her ways (see for further explanation), Xena began to look for redemption by atoning her past misdeeds (which was where the television series began).
*Shura Yukihimi: US title Princess Blade. Portrayed by Yumiko Shaku, Princess Yuki is Takemikazuchi royalty, a clan of assassins with very few of royal blood remaining, named after [http://www.pantheon.org/articles/t/takimikazuchi-no-mikoto.html Takimikazuchi-no-Mikoto] , a patron deity of warriors. When she discovers the leader of the clan killed her mother in order to take control, she must battle the leader and the rest of her clan. She is young, ruthless and very proficient with swords.
*In addition Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in the original film, is written as a 'valley girl' cheerleader.

Animation

*She-Ra, in the He-Man universe (and his female counterpart) is called the Princess of Power, and fights as well as any man. Her friend Princess Glimmer is also a fighter in her own right, though more inexperienced since she's still in training.
*Princess Flame: In the cartoon "Blazing Dragons," the princess, despite being demure and wanting to be Flicker's damsel, is quite a capable warrior and is never actually bested when she fights, winning the tournament in which the winner would win her hand. Has knocked out a human knight with a spiked mace, and held Flicker off the ground (straight arm, parallel to the ground) while wearing platemail.
*In the cartoon "Teen Titans", sisters Starfire and Blackfire are alien warrior princesses of the planet Tamaran.
*Princess Azula of the Fire Nation from Avatar The Last Airbender is one of the most powerful characters in the series and a firebending prodigy.
*"Sailor Moon" is the reincarnation of Princess Serenity, and also a warrior against demons in the show. Princess Kakyuu is also a sailor senshi in the manga.
*In "Gundam Seed", Cagalli Yula Athha is a princess of the Orb Union who engages in aircraft and personal combat, with bravery in spite of extreme odds.
*In "Slayers", the warrior priestess Amelia Saillune is princess of Saillune.
*In "Scrapped Princess", Senes Giat, a princess of the Giat Empire, is often referred to as "Beast Princess" because of her untamed character and her fear-inspiring finesse with her sword and magic.
*Another example is Princess Kida in

ee also

*Dahomey Amazons
*Dumb blonde
*Feminist film theory
*Magical girl
*Princesse lointaine
*Tomboy
*Valkyrie