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My favorite princesses Her Royal Highness the Princess of Gallagher, aka Princess Izzy, is a spunky Yale graduate with a “wiggle in her waltz” and a genuinely raucous affection for the horse track. She was born into the minor nobility of Bisbania, but was able to leave a largely private life until she married the prince and suddenly appeared destined to be queen. The press claims to like her because she’s down-to-earth and unassuming, but mostly they just enjoyed snickering at her klutziness and rather ordinary fashion sense. She turns things around only when she starts using the lyrics of Bruce Springsteen to chart her career. I like to think of her as being absolutely unique, but I must confess that she did have royal influences. Here are, in no particular order, some of the most interesting princesses in recent memory and how they influenced Princess Izzy. Crown Princess Masako of Japan – Born a commoner and educated at Harvard, people believed she would shake up the royal family by bringing them a new definition of womanhood. Things don’t appear to be working out that way and Masako’s name is most often mentioned now when discussing the pressure that is on her to produce a male heir. I like to think that Princess Izzy brings to the royal family of Bisbania what many people hoped Masako would bring to Japan. Princess Grace of Monaco – Isabella’s Bisbania is described as a tiny city-state and resembles Monaco in many ways. I’m sure Monaco is a lovely place, but the ridiculous trade-offs of royal life do become a bit more ridiculous for a smaller country. Being the future queen of a small city is, after all, considerably different than being the future ruler of the British Empire. And that brings us to… Diana, Princess of Wales – Obviously. After all, Diana has pretty much defined for our generation everything that a princess is – good and bad, triumphant and tragic. She looked and dressed better in her 30s than she did her in 20s – and do any of us know for certain that Bruce Springsteen didn’t play a role in that? Sarah, The Duchess of York – Who can forget when Sarah, new on the royal scene, created a mini-scandal by encouraging Diana to help her poke well-dressed members of their entourage with in the rear end with umbrellas. Fergie, as she is known, was silly and irrepressible and refreshing, right up to the point where it all became too much. When Isabella calls out something inappropriate at a race track and then tries to pass it off as clearing her throat, she is getting in touch with her inner Fergie. Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway – She was also a commoner, a unwed mother no less, when she caught the eye of Crown Prince Haakon. Their courtship and engagement was considered rather scandalous, but it’s all worked fabulously well. I think it’s a sign of what could happen if royals didn’t take themselves so seriously. Also, I once saw her wear a lilac dress with ruby purse. She looked absolutely wonderful! I would like to think that is something Princess Isabella could do. Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria – Honestly, she’s a little bland. But I can’t help it. I just like her. She’s classy and quiet. I think she may be what Isabella aspired to, but was just too rambunctious to ever pull off. HONORABLE MENTION -- I hestitate to include the next one because she's not, actually, real. But the fictional Princess Leia of the Star Wars movies should be included in any list of influential royals. I was just a child when I saw the lovely princess being rescued by the movie's hero -- and that's why the scene where she realized he didn't have an escape plan made such an impression on me. She said, sarcastically, 'this is some rescue,' took the gun from his hands and took over. She essentially rescued herself. All princesses, especially fictional ones, should be so plucky!
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