Always a princess and never queen.

[Tetrakemy 221]

Just like legend of Zelda, every fairy tale book ever written, and so many other works. It is always a princess and never a queen! What is so special about being a princess vs a queen? Princess has no authority in a kingdom of any kind. If her mother dies, her father either ( Warning, mature content ahead )

 

depending on what country, person and time era we are talking here, marries the daughter which implies you know what,

Or just finds another wife or doesn't. Princesses can never take command unless BOTH parents and NO "Male" heir is present or any older female siblings are present! 

 

That is pretty much it! None of the princesses have older siblings who can assume the command above them, celestia and luna have no parents or other siblings.

 

Why are none of them Queens? Or Empresses? Or Goddesses? 

[Ribbonfree 2,383]

I believe Lauren herself actually made an answer about this, I don't know if there's any online recording of it but I remember hearing it back in EQLA 2013. The connotation of the very word 'Queen' in a lot of stories for little girls (read, the target audience) are that they are the bad guys. The evil Queen in fairy tales and stories like Rapnuzel and Snow White (do not quote me on whether there are actually Queens by name in either of those, I do not know my fairy tales). It makes sense if you look at it from the perspective of a little girl. Queens are older, and thus more distant and not as relatable for the little ones. Princesses are younger, more relatable and that comes with the innocence angle and the like. So Lauren made the concious decision to make the highest position in the land Princess.

[NotoriousSMALL 1,984]

It's been said before that Lauren Faust wanted to call them queens but hasbro veto'd that and said that queens are usually portrayed as evil and so they're all demoted to princesses 

[Ribbonfree 2,383]

It's been said before that Lauren Faust wanted to call them queens but hasbro veto'd that and said that queens are usually portrayed as evil and so they're all demoted to princesses 

 

Oh, is that it? Might be my memory distorted then, but I know that someone or another in charge had the idea because of that connotation.

[TheJLeeTeam 914]

Because princesses are good and queens are evil. Even queen sounds evil to me. I think princess just sounds a lot nicer.

[Banul 3,831]

Princesses are the daughters. Little girls relate more to them.

 

In mlp, it's a marketing thing.

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

Faust had originally wanted to call Celestia queen, but Hasbro forgoed it because they thought little girls could not relate to the title, and thus they wouldn't sell as many toys. And you have the disney aspect of Queens normally being cold calqulating villains rather than the young and bright faced heroins.

[Starshine 16,330]

Because princesses have all the fun. They get to ride a pony, have tea parties, go to the gala and dance with a handsome prince, then instantly get married to that prince to secure an alliance with neighboring states

 

Queen? All they can do is to declare war and execute traitors

Edited October 23, 2014 by Starshine

[King Sejong 858]

   It's just like what was said in the Nostalgia Critic review of Princess Diaries 2 - Royal Engagement, someone figured that girls don't want to rule with intelligence and grace, they want fame without that pesky responsibility, but it was a minor sacrifice, because we got our show, and Lauren Faust gave us much more than that, she also gave us the strength to have a fandom. The Roman emperor was a monarch in everything but name, since king was a mistrusted name for the Roman Republic, so they changed the word so a single ruler could rule and expand the empire.

[Red Cedar 1,407]

Yeah, I heard the same thing everyone else did. Lauren Faust wanted her to be Queen Celestia, but Hasbro vetoed that on the grounds that other producers - most notable Disney - had made the title of Queen synonymous with being evil, so she got busted down to Princess and made Equestrian politics quite convoluted as a result, even though she is still pretty undeniably in charge.

 

And then they go and perpetuate the stereotype when they introduce Queen Chrysalis. If I were Elizabeth the Second I'd almost be feeling a little persecuted.

[chirox the pony 1,334]

Huh so Hasbro thought kids would see her as evil did they, when I was growing up(same goes for my sister and mother)I didn't think the Queen(Elizabeth II)was evil.

[Hive King 1,998]

Disregarding real life, within show purposes, it's probably because of Queen Chrysalis. It could be that the word queen refers to a changeling matriarch and a pony using it would be like calling someone an alpha. 

 

Alternatively, if Chrysalis is their enemy, it could carry the same connotations as naming someone Fuhrer or Tsar

[MidnightBloom 84]

I've been thinking perhaps Celestia would ascend as Queen somewhere and Twilight takes her place but that's just me .-. This is the first time I've heard of this not using "Queen" because it makes kids think they're evil, though and the longer I think about it the more sense it makes. Aside from Glinda (Oz), I can't really think of any good queens. 

[Gernia 690]

I think it's all about the marketing and the image a queen can give, though it would be interesting if one of the characters (Celestia) were a queen.

[BuzzBuzzTheBee 14]

Marketing, it may be a great show - but Hasbro are still just doing it for the dough.

 

Funnily enough, I had this discussion myself with some friends yesterday! >.>

Edited October 23, 2014 by BuzzBuzzTheBee

[mars 4,861]

Aside from Glinda (Oz), I can't really think of any good queens.

Queen Elsa, who ironically is from a Disney movie. I would have preferred it be Queen Celestia, but the lore on what defines a princess in the MLP world has changed so much, I'm glad they didn't do it.

[Fhaolan 4,468]

Just as a note, 'Princess' as the female form of 'Prince' is actually an older term than even King or Queen. The various Roman Emperors' official title was 'Prince' (or in Latin, Princeps). Emperor (or in Latin, Imperator), was originally a military rank that was in addition to their primary title of Prince. The position of titles switched when Rome was taken in a variety of military coups.

 

There are several nations in existence right now that have their highest rank as Prince. Not because they are subject to other nations who have Kings or whatnot, but because they are still using the old form that predates the titles of Kings.

 

Interestingly, some of those nations have a diarchy as well, with two Princes co-ruling. Usually it's one Prince being in charge of the civilian functions, and the other being in charge of the military functions.

[Twilight S7 27]

I had honestly just thought about this not 10 minutes ago.

[Hive King 1,998]

It's kind of funny, there are quite a few benevolent Disney queens

 

Kidakagash from Atlantis, Queen Elsa, Mama Odie(queen of the bayou), Queen Susan and Lucy, Nala and Sarabi, Ariel in the sequel, Hera, Aurora's mother, etc

[Wind Chaser 4,767]

It was Lauren Faust's intention to name the alicorns queens rather than princesses, even her concept art of Celestia titled her a queen. It was Hasbro alone that told her to rename her a princess, and Lauren just went with it. The word "princess" just seems to have more connotations of elegance and youth than "queen" does, despite "queen" sounding much more like a position of power.

 

It's just Hasbro acting on market research and popular culture (but really, did they have to make the first version of her toy [nostalgiachick]PIIIIIIINK???!!![/nostalgiachick]).

[MidnightBloom 84]

It's kind of funny, there are quite a few benevolent Disney queens

 

Kidakagash from Atlantis, Queen Elsa, Mama Odie(queen of the bayou), Queen Susan and Lucy, Nala and Sarabi, Ariel in the sequel, Hera, Aurora's mother, etc

It's rather disappointing that none of these queens have more impact than evil queens. I love Kida though

 

Queen Elsa, who ironically is from a Disney movie. I would have preferred it be Queen Celestia, but the lore on what defines a princess in the MLP world has changed so much, I'm glad they didn't do it.

Ahh yes, of course. I also think calling her a queen would have made her seem distant. I like the air of mystery surrounding Celestia though. 

[Hive King 1,998]

 

 

It's rather disappointing that none of these queens have more impact than evil queens. I love Kida though

Actually, in terms of evil queens, not too many. There's the Queen from Snow White, the White Witch...that's about it. There are plenty of female villains, but there aren't many queens. The stepmother isn't a queen, Ursula was a queen for a whole of 5 minutes, Maleficent isn't a queen, Cruella De Vil is just a rich lady, Yzma is an advisor, etc 

[Will Guide 21,325]

It's kind of funny, there are quite a few benevolent Disney queens

 

Kidakagash from Atlantis, Queen Elsa, Mama Odie(queen of the bayou), Queen Susan and Lucy, Nala and Sarabi, Ariel in the sequel, Hera, Aurora's mother, etc

 

 

Actually, in terms of evil queens, not too many. There's the Queen from Snow White, the White Witch...that's about it. There are plenty of female villains, but there aren't many queens. The stepmother isn't a queen, Ursula was a queen for a whole of 5 minutes, Maleficent isn't a queen, Cruella De Vil is just a rich lady, Yzma is an advisor, etc 

 

Thank you very much! There ARE good Disney Queens, and I'll still call Elsa a Queen even when Disney Marketing would put her and Anna in the Disney Princess lineup soon!

[Hive King 1,998]

Thank you very much! There ARE good Disney Queens, and I'll still call Elsa a Queen even when Disney Marketing would put her and Anna in the Disney Princess lineup soon!

Disney Princess line up has a lot of non princesses, see Mulan, Pocahontas, and Merida(she's called a princess, but being the daughter of a lord, she's more like a Lady)

[MidnightBloom 84]

Actually, in terms of evil queens, not too many. There's the Queen from Snow White, the White Witch...that's about it. There are plenty of female villains, but there aren't many queens. The stepmother isn't a queen, Ursula was a queen for a whole of 5 minutes, Maleficent isn't a queen, Cruella De Vil is just a rich lady, Yzma is an advisor, etc 

I actually just meant that imo the benevolent queens aren't as memorable as the bad ones. Kid!me would have thought of The Evil Queen first before any of the good queens