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I hadn’t realized the Disney Princess craze went just this far, but apparently it has, with the Disney Princess Royal Court. At first glance the phrase is just a title under which Disney’s many princesses fall. However, it’s used in a much more specific way: to identify the 10 princesses – Ariel, Aurora, Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Mulan, Pocahontas, Rapunzel, Snow White, and Tiana – whom have been officially welcomed into the royal court. Disney holds an actual ceremony in real life, using the cast members who play the princesses at the parks, to add new members to the royal court.
I’m not joking. I wish I was, because the concept is completely ridiculous. But no; in fact, on Sunday October 2 Disney held the Princess Royal Court ceremony welcoming Rapunzel into the group. This happened at Kensington Palace in London.
I don’t even know where to begin. Why on earth would Disney fly all the way to London? I could even see them maybe doing such a thing in Paris, because at least the Mouse House has a base there at Disneyland Paris.
Of course the answer is evident: because despite the fact that many other European countries (except for France, which might be another reason why this wasn’t held in Paris) still have monarchies, England is the country Americans most associate with royalty. If Disney’s going to hold a fancy ceremony and bother to go abroad, rather than just doing it at one of the domestic parks, then London seems the obvious destination.
This is Disney, so of course there was much more to the event than just the actual initiation ceremony. Disney released a whole set of PR photographs from the day before the ceremony, of Rapunzel and Flynn playing around London. They pose by the Thames and in Trafalgar Square. Rapunzel’s hair trails out of windows in the Tower of London and from behind pillars in Covent Garden.
The spectacle would not be complete, however, without a parade, and Disney didn’t disappoint. Before the ceremony Rapunzel and her friends traveled in much pomp and circumstance from Queens Gate at Kensington Gore, around the Gardens, and stopped at The Orangery beside Kensington Palace. Fans gathered along the route to cheer Disney’s newest princess on her way.
I understand that this is a PR move for Disney, but it just seems completely ridiculous and over the top, even for the House of Mouse. It’s not like it happened in conjunction with the theater or even home release of “Tangled,” to promote the film.
They’ve got a made-up court and hold real life, fancy ceremonies to induct fictional characters into the group. I could see this as an afternoon show at one of the parks, but they traveled all the way to London to make a special spectacle out of it and it’s just ludicrous.
The interesting thing is I can’t find much information about the Disney Princess Royal Court beyond details about the individual inductions of Rapunzel and Tiana. That makes me think that the conceit was invented around the time of “The Princess and the Frog,” and that the other princesses were included from the beginning without their own ceremonies.
Does this mean Disney will travel to London, or elsewhere, every time they create a new princess? I hope not, but I wouldn’t be surprised.
What do you think of the Disney Princess Royal Court ceremonies? Do you think they’re too much, or just a bit of extravagant fun?
Related Articles:
A Study in Princesses: Giselle and Tiana
A Study in Princesses: Rapunzel and Beyond
*(This image by Sam Howzit is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
