For a lot of little girls, going to Disney World, dressing up like their favorite princess and meeting them is the dream. For a long time, there weren’t many princes to meet. However, these days, you can find most of the fan-favorite princes arm in arm with their princesses throughout the park.
These characters have become heroes and heroines, each an icon in their own right. However, what if a few key details were changed? What if the princes of these stories were actually the princesses? It’s odd to think about, and admittedly hard to picture in some cases.
Luckily, there’s a whole internet of artists who have no trouble at all in picturing this. All across DeviantArt, Tumblr, and Pinterest, fans have posted their imaginings of these classic princes in princess form. So, we’ve rounded up 16 of the best.
Technically, Disney doesn’t have 16 officially official princes. However, for the purposes of this list, male counterparts in equally important positions were counted.
Disney has everything from Princes to Emperor’s to Army Captains, and each have been reimagined to be a heroine, rather than a hero in the stories fans have come to love.
Here are 16 Disney Princes Reimagined as Princesses.
Prince Phillip
The story of Sleeping Beauty, aka Aurora, and Prince Phillip is one of Disney’s more adorable ones. Both don’t know who the other is, but fall in love anyway. The only snag is that their both betrothed. The good news is, it’s to each other! It’s a classic tale of fate intervening.
Prince Phillip is a pretty cookie-cutter Disney prince. He falls in love with the princess, uses the Sword of Truth and Shield of Virtue to defeat the dragon, and saves Sleeping Beauty with a kiss.
It’s the original formula for a Disney movie. But what if things were flipped and Prince Phillip was the cursed princess?
Would she have approached a strange man in the woods? Would she still get away curse free? Maybe, maybe not.
One Tumblr user, under the account Let There Be Doodles!, toyed with the idea and created a female version of Prince Phillip.
Not too many changes were made, mostly just lengthening of the hair, and filling out the eyes and lips a bit. Still, it’s a whole new character.
The account specializes in creating unique variations on Disney characters, from changing their ethnicities to their gender identities. You can browse through more here.
Aladdin
Aladdin’s journey makes him a fan-favorite Disney prince. He’s the epitome of “started from the bottom, now we’re here.”
He lived most of his life as a street rat, and only became royalty when he married Jasmine. Unless you count Aladdin’s father as a real King. Cassim was the King of Thieves, but he didn’t have an actual domain.
However, would the character still have made it into the palace as a female? Most rags-to-riches princess stories see the heroine coming from a poor past, but not literally off the streets. Even so, it doesn’t mean a fan can’t dream it up themselves – and that’s exactly what they did.
A DeviantArt user by the name of Fernl, imagined what it might be like if Aladdin were a young woman. In place of the classic purple vest, this princess wears a purple halter top.
However, the harem pants are here to stay. She doesn’t have her sidekick Abu in the photo, but he’s probably off stealing something.
Fernl seems to be a savant for dreaming up new Disney scenarios, like Tiana and Rapunzel as mermaids, or Belle and Cinderella sitting down to tea together. You can check out more of their Disney art here.
Prince Eric
It’s not often that you fall in love with someone without ever hearing them say a word. But that was the case for Prince Eric, as he immediately fell for Ariel. Granted, he thought she was someone straight from his dreams – which, technically she was, he just wasn’t dreaming – so there was an immediate trust there.
It’s never really made clear where exactly Eric is the prince of, but he’s got the title so it has to be somewhere. His story was actually pretty similar to most princesses, in that he was under pressure to get married. So what if he actually was a princess in the movie?
Ursula may have put Eric under her spell, but Ureshi-San did something much more impressive.
They turned him from Prince Eric into Princess Erica. They even imagined Ariel as a merman – well, in this shot he’s just a man.
It seems to be a recreation of their first meeting, when Ariel is just getting her land legs, literally.
Ureshi-San kept things simple, sticking to the outfits of the movie, just adjusting them a bit for gender. Eric, or Erica’s face, wasn’t altered much at all, except for some gentler features.
There several live action Little Mermaid movies in the works, but Ureshi-San’s imagining would make for an interesting spin.
Prince Adam
For most people, Belle’s prince is just named Beast. After all, the movie is called Beauty and the Beast. Everyone referred to him as Beast, including Belle.
It wasn’t until years after the movie came out the Disney revealed that Belle actually lived happily ever after with Prince Adam.
The whole reason Adam was turned into a beast was because he was cursed by a witch. He turned her away when she needed asylum because she appeared to him as an ugly old hag. When she revealed her true form, he begged for forgiveness but she did not give. In short, he was as shallow as they come.
It’s hard to imagine a princess acting that way, but it’s always a possibility. It begs the question what would a female “beast” have looked like?
We may never know the answer to that, but thanks to DeviantArt’s user Javelaud, we can see what a female version of the human prince would look like.
The artist definitely pulled from the movie, using Belle’s hair and Adam’s final suit for inspiration. Like Adam, she’s blonde, but definitely daintier which would make sense. Javelaud actually has a whole series imagining the princes as princesses, which you can check out here.
Snow White’s Prince
For years and years, it was believed that Snow White’s prince didn’t have a name. He’s never referred to as anything other than “the Prince.” To this day, no one knows what his actual name is, though the popular theory is Florian or Ferdinand.
Still, Disney fans tend to put him at the top of the “Favorite Princes” list. He swoops in, sweeps Snow White off her feet, and saves her from the apple’s curse with true love’s kiss. But what if The Prince was a princess? Would the story go the same way? Apparently not.
Not only did Kozekito imagine “The Prince” as “The Princess,” but they also imagined Snow White as a man. He’s definitely not as dainty as the original Snow White, and The Princess isn’t as eager as The Prince was.
In this image, it seems like Snow White is the one coming onto The Princess, who is having none of it. It’d make for an interesting reboot for sure.
It’s an amusing contrast considering Snow White’s big song is “Someday My Prince Will Come”. In terms of costumes, The Princess looks pretty similar to the original prince, feather and dagger included.
However, being a man in this version, Snow White looks pretty different. The color scheme is the same, but in place of a dress, he wears a tight shirt and pants.
Prince Naveen
Prince Naveen is newer to the Disney family, and actually appears to give up his princely duties by the end of The Princess and the Frog. He sticks around to help Tiana with her restaurant, and it’d be pretty hard to continue ruling over Maldonia from New Orleans.
Of course, Naveen wasn’t always the type to stick around and work. He hated work. Anything that required him to put forth a real effort was not something he was interested in.
He spent most of his time avoiding his handler, playing music in the streets and wandering about, looking for a good time.
It’d actually be pretty interesting to see a Disney heroine as carefree as Naveen. Most Disney princesses have a distinct goal, always made clear with what’s come to be known as an “I want” song. All Naveen wanted was to live the privileged life he always had.
If Naveen were a princess, she wouldn’t necessarily be the greatest role model, but it would definitely be a new angle for a Disney heroine.
Artist Julia’s imagining doesn’t stray too far from the original character of Naveen. She still has her signature newscap and ukulele, but this Naveen has much longer hair.
Li Shang
The only true royalty in Mulan was the Emperor. But Mulan herself saved China, and deserves every bit of respect a Disney princess gets. By that logic, Li Shang is her prince. Like Mulan, he was just a warrior, but he was an impressive one.
Mulan was, and for the most part still is, considered a revelation for Disney. No other movie has the heroine go undercover to save the day.
It was amazing to see a heroine not only demand, but also earn her due. It would’ve been even more impressive if the heroine was the Captain.
So Tumblr user Let There Be Doodles! also imagined Li Shang as a female captain in the Emperor’s army. The character’s look isn’t changed too drastically.
As a woman, Shang has a bit longer, looser hair and is less chiseled in the face. The shoulders aren’t as broad, and has an overall smaller frame, but the captain still looks as capable and determined as ever.
Disney’s live-action Mulan has just about finished casting at this point, and the rumor is that Shang won’t even be a character in this version. So maybe a female captain isn’t so far-fetched this time around.
Fans will have to wait about a year and a half to find out, though.
Flynn Rider
Like a number of other Disney princes, Flynn Rider married into royalty. Before he met Rapunzel, he was just a common thief, albeit a charming one.
However, in Tangled Ever After, Flynn officially became a prince. If the Tangled animated series on Disney Channel is any indication, he made the transition pretty easily, and is actually a kind-hearted royal.
Flynn was a new kind of hero for Disney, because he started as a bit of an antihero. Where Aladdin stole to survive, and help kids living on the street too, Flynn stole mostly because he wanted to. He was fulfilling a childhood dream of being a swashbuckling hero, just not on the helping others part.
This would be even cooler to see in a princess. Disney heroines are always, always pure at heart, so seeing one steal would be something totally new and entertaining, especially if she was born a royal instead of a thief.
So, MabyChan created a different version of Flynn Rider on Tumblr. In their version, the outfit is mostly the same, just a bit puffier in the sleeves.
However, this gives it an extra swashbuckling feel, as it’s very reminiscent of pirate fashion. This Flynn still keeps her satchel close at hand, and has challenge in her eyes, but a bit less of a smolder.
Prince Hans
Yes, Prince Hans turned out to be the villain of Frozen, but he was technically a Prince. He was 13th in line to rule over the Southern Isles, and that’s exactly why he turned to villainy.
He just wanted a kingdom of his own. In fairness, he was good to the people of Arendelle is Anna’s absence, and it’s hard not to wonder if he had good intentions for them, just nefarious plans to become their ruler.
So far, Disney has never had a princess as a villain. They’ve had evil queens, and in fact, Elsa was originally going to be evil in Frozen.
Still she would’ve been an evil queen, thanks to her coronation. The closest thing Disney has to evil princesses are Mal and Evie in the Disney Channel Descendants movies.
It’s intriguing to imagine Hans as a princess, assuming she still had his same villainous tendencies.
It’d make for an especially interesting dynamic if she still had 12 brothers. As the only girl, it’d make her stand out that much more.
DeviantArt user juliajm15 imagined Hans in princess form for three separate occasions, using all three of his outfits from the movie.
She has the same sweet demeanor, along with a cunningness to her. It’s easy, and actually pretty fun, to imagine her and Elsa going head to head in battle.
Hercules
Hercules doesn’t exactly have the word “Prince” in his name, but he’s the son of Zeus and Hera. The two of them ruled over Olympus, so Hercules was basically the demigod equivalent of a Prince.
Plus, he has all the typical princely qualities; he’s strong, passionate, devoted to helping people and has a huge heart.
His only real downfall is the “damsel in distress” lesson. He just wants to help, so he’s pretty thrown when Meg gets sassy with him. If Hercules were a female demigod, she might’ve understood a little more. Or maybe Meg would’ve been more willing to accept help.
Fanpop user LeentjeAL went ahead and imagined Hercules as a woman, even going so far as to switch up the gender of Pegasus too.
This version seems to combine the best physical features of Meg and Hercules. She’s still a redhead like Herc, but has the long, thick ponytail that Meg does.
She’s much more lean, and opts for a spear instead of a sword, and is arguably more daunting than regular Hercules, at a glance. It could be because of her confident sneer.
She seems to have a bit more fire in her eyes than Herc did. He always had more of a boyish charm than anything.
Simba
In The Lion King, Simba relished his life as a prince. He wasn’t spoiled or cruel, he was just a kid (well, cub) who wanted the freedom to do as he pleased. It was relatable for any kid.
Then Simba grew up, and things got weird. Suddenly people were vehemently debating the attractiveness of an animated lion.
As an adult, Simba was just as carefree, but for a very different, heartbreaking reason. He felt so guilty about his father’s death that he ran from everything, including his life as heir to the throne.
However, as he learned, he couldn’t hide from who he really was. With the support of Nala, Simba returned to Pride Rock as King.
Had Simba been a lioness, rather than a lion, the story could’ve been way different.
Jasmine Hopkins took to the internet to show what that might look like, and it’s more unexpected than one might think. In Hopkins’ artwork, both Simba’s and Nala’s genders have been switched.
Especially during the time when The Lion King was released, it would’ve been nearly unheard of to have a male character fight for a female to come back and rule a kingdom. With a live action Lion King on the way, this would be an original plot to pursue, but it’s unlikely.
Kuzco
Whether or not Kuzco was a Prince or a King is hard to tell. His official title was Emperor, but for the purposes of this list, we’ll count him. He wasn’t that good at his job though.
Kuzco was mean, selfish, and all around unpleasant at the start of The Emperor’s New Groove. There’s really a case to be made that he’s a villain himself in the beginning.
Like Prince Adam, Kuzco is absurdly shallow. He cares only about the finer things, and people, in life. One of his slimiest lines comes when he’s judging a group full of women, hurling insults, and finally ends with “Let me guess, you have a great personality.”
This line was the inspiration for Chichiri Yuki’s artwork. This artist imagined Kuzco as an empress, but with just the same amount of sass.
No Disney heroine has ever been so brutal, except maybe Meg from Hercules. Yuki went into great detail, more so than typical Disney animation, to the point where fans could probably cast a live action version of this Kuzco in their heads.
Yuki has developed an extensive following online thanks to art like this. Most are in the style of anime, including a take on human versions of Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde from Zootopia. Check out more images here.
Kristoff
One of the most popular lines in Frozen comes when Olaf refers to Kristoff as a “valiant, pungent reindeer king.”
Indeed, Kristoff isn’t really a king, but by the end of the movie he does become a Prince. Or at least, he’s in line to be. It’s all part of the gig when you date the youngest princess of Arendelle.
At the end of Frozen, the Anna and Kristoff are just dating. But it’s pretty heavily implied that they get their happily ever after.
In the short “Frozen Fever”, Kristoff even tosses in a sly “I do” during the song “Making Today A Perfect Day”. Once they say their vows, he’ll officially be a Disney prince.
However, if Kristoff were actually Kristina, as juliajm15 once again imagined, she’d be a very different Disney princess. Princesses are usually perfectly put together.
Anna herself was considered a breath of fresh air when they showed her waking up in the morning with crazy hair. It was the realest depiction yet.
Even before Anna, more and more Disney princesses started to become rougher around the edges. But Kristoff is a totally new brand of Disney prince. As a princess, she’d be someone Disney has never seen the likes of before.
Tarzan
Tarzan is mostly known as the king of the jungle. But as it turns out, he’s actually a prince in the world of humans.
There was a popular Disney conspiracy theory that Tarzan is the lost brother to Anna and Elsa of Frozen.
Fans believe that when the King and Queen of Arendelle got caught in a storm and their ship sank, they escaped. They might’ve gotten on a lifeboat in time, and lived the rest of their days in the jungle, where they had a son.
In an interview with MTV, Frozen’s director has actually confirmed this theory to be true, and he’s the rightful Prince of Arendelle. (Hopefully he doesn’t pop up in Frozen 2 looking for the throne. That could get awkward). That would make Jane a princess by marriage. It’s a complicated universe.
In the fan art universe, Tarzan could be a girl. It’d make sense for Anna and Elsa’s parents to have all girls. SamDeLaTorre created such a version on DeviantArt and she is much more intense than her sisters.
It’s an incredibly lifelike piece of work, and almost makes you want another live action Tarzan only with this leading lady.
SamDeLaTorre has more imaginings of classic characters, including Godzilla, which you can find here.
Prince Charming
It’s a common misconception, but there is actually only one Prince Charming. And he’s not the very first Disney prince; he’s Cinderella’s prince, not Snow White’s. He didn’t have the biggest role in the movie (he wasn’t even the one to put the slipper on Cinderella in the end), but he’s one of the most beloved Disney princes.
Over the years, Prince Charming has become the standard goal for romantic relationships. Everyone wants someone who will search for them as hard as he did for Cinderella, just maybe in a more practical way. Now, in 1950, it’d be hard for anyone to imagine a princess going after a housekeeping boy.
However, these days, it’s a little bit easier to picture. So TheDContinuum did, illustrating what it’d be like if Prince Charming were actually Princess Charming.
They kept it simple, apparently taking an image of Cinderella and switching up the colors to match the Prince’s classic wardrobe.
With the jet black hair, the princess looks pretty similar to Snow White, save for the dress.
There have been countless retellings of the story of Cinderella, but none have imagined the Prince as a Princess. It’s hard not to wonder what that story would be like.
However, with so many reboots happening right now, anything’s possible.
All the Princes
All in all, making classic Disney princes into princesses could make for some really compelling stories. Perhaps the idea might inspire future writers to create their own versions of these tales.
Then again, it could be exactly the same stories, just with genders flipped a bit. Either way, it’s something different.
But now, after seeing the princes individually, let’s look at them as a group. KnightJJ kept things simple, just drawing the princes in the dresses of their respective princesses.
The image is a sillier one, and reminds fans just how funny things could get – like Prince Eric actually having a fishtail or Flynn Rider wielding a frying pan of his own.
It’s one of those images where the longer you look at it, the more you notice and the funnier it gets. John Smith is loving the wind in his hair and Aladdin is loving… his view of certain things.
The art even includes Milo Thatch from Atlantis: The Lost Empire (an often overlooked Disney movie).
However, perhaps the funniest aspect is the Beast in Belle’s classic yellow dress. He’s the tallest of everyone, but surprisingly easy to miss with everything else that’s going on in the creation.
What do you think of these pieces? Should some of Disney’s princes been brought to life as princesses? Let us know in the comments!
