Very interesting. And, actually, you can get with the Prince-thing even farther into history: Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome called himself "Princeps", which, as you said, "first one among equals". 400 or something years earlier, the Romans threw down their Etruscian kings, and declared Rome to be a republic. Since then, the Roman word for king, "rex", was seen as bad by them, much like "tyrant" today, which then meant nothing but "monarch" after all.
Powerfull Roman politicians were always afraid of being labeled "rex" because that could mean losing their titles and wealth, getting banished, assassination, or all three.
So a Roman who actually had the powers of a king, like Augustus, had to call themselve something else, something that doesn´t have much to do with "king".
Back then, "Prince" wasn´t associated with "King".
Maybe thats why the Royal Sisters call themselves (and other alicorns) Princesses and not Queens. Maybe there was, a time so very long ago that it is even historical to so long-lifed beings as Celestia and Luna, and that it is forgotten by most other ponies, once an Alicorn Queen, who was a tyrant. A very bad tyrant. And because of this Queen, all next Alicorn Rulers called themselves "Princess".
Equestria and the Crystal Empire: Always a Princess, Never a Queen
in Fhaolan's Worldbuilding Blog
A blog by Fhaolan in General
Posted
Very interesting. And, actually, you can get with the Prince-thing even farther into history : Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome called himself "Princeps", which, as you said, "first one among equals". 400 or something years earlier, the Romans threw down their Etruscian kings, and declared Rome to be a republic. Since then, the Roman word for king, "rex", was seen as bad by them, much like "tyrant" today, which then meant nothing but "monarch" after all.
Powerfull Roman politicians were always afraid of being labeled "rex" because that could mean losing their titles and wealth, getting banished, assassination, or all three.
So a Roman who actually had the powers of a king, like Augustus, had to call themselve something else, something that doesn´t have much to do with "king".
Back then, "Prince" wasn´t associated with "King".
Maybe thats why the Royal Sisters call themselves (and other alicorns) Princesses and not Queens. Maybe there was, a time so very long ago that it is even historical to so long-lifed beings as Celestia and Luna, and that it is forgotten by most other ponies, once an Alicorn Queen, who was a tyrant. A very bad tyrant. And because of this Queen, all next Alicorn Rulers called themselves "Princess".
What about this theory?