The Princess Code

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This post used to be a sub-page of my About section. Trying to slimming down the layout made me convert it into this, as I didn’t want the Code to be lost.

On some points in this blog the term “princess” is used. In a time and society where this term is highly associated with pretty girls in flaunty dresses it might need a little bit of explanation. This is mine.

Back when I started this blog, one of my big inspirations was Princess Skye, a now-retired Lolita blogger who strongly believed in this quote from one of my favourite books, Hodgson-Burnett’s A Little Princess:

“Whatever comes,” she said, “cannot alter one thing. If I am a princess in rags and tatters, I can be a princess inside. It would be easy to be a princess if I were dressed in cloth of gold, but it is a great deal more of a triumph to be one all the time when no one knows it.”

I still think this is a great quote, and I believe that there is more than the Disney take to being a princess. I tame dragons. I fight for myself. I wear armour and pretty ruffled dresses alike. I have my sword, and I have grace. I can sit around a fire with rugged adventurers and drink my fill, and I can – as a proper young lady – sit at the head of the table at a banquet. I can do all these things, and there is no limit to what I can do.

Back in those days Skye also wrote something called “The Princess Code”. As in many other cases, these are no rules, just guidelines. They are to be interpreted. I don’t even hurrah to each and every point on the list. Also, they are definitely not limited to a gender. I didn’t write this, but I want it to go on.

The Code

~ A Princess inspires others to follow their hopes and dreams through pursuing her own.

~ A Princess greets everyone with a welcoming smile, melting the hearts of friends and disarming her enemies.

~ A Princess has dignity, which protects her from the opinions and spite of ignorant people.

~ A Princess always looks beautiful, even when she is asleep.

~ A Princess aims for perfection in every step.

~ A Princess should be given fresh flowers everyday, even if she has to give them to herself.

~ A Princess grows in recognition and stature in proportion to how much she treats others as royalty.

~ A Princess reflect’s her inner beauty in her aesthetic choices.

~ A Princess goes to war against the violence of incivility with the weapons of etiquette and prodigal generosity.

~ A Princess lives each day from the heart, expressing herself freely and treasuring every moment.

~ A Princess has the right to spend her funds on beautiful things she does not need because beauty in itself is priceless.

~ A Princess should follow her heart and believe in her dreams, even if the whole world seems to be against her.

~ A Princess respects her environment and nurtures the beauty of nature.

~ A Princess is never too busy to give a kind word or smile where it is needed.

~ A Princess’s most precious jewel is Hope, which lights her darkest days and shows her the beauty in every soul she meets.

(Princess Skye, now a Lost Princess)