History Main / VillainousPrincess

* ''LightNovel/OurLastCrusadeOrTheRiseOfANewWorld'': [[spoiler:Elletear Lou Nebulis IX is a tragic example of this trope, with a FreudianExcuse no less. She was born as the first princess of the Nebulis Sovereignty with a very unimpressive ability, especially compared to her [[AnIcePerson younger]] [[MasterOfIllusion sisters]], ''not to mention every other Nebulis citizen''. Regardless, she worked hard in becoming her mother's successor and a candidate for Queen studying [[PoliticallyActivePrincess sciences, politics,]] [[LadyOfWar warfare,]] and even [[LessonsInSophistication lady etiquette]] so that she could give equality to all the Astral Mages with weak Astral Spirits like herself. However, because she was born with a laughably weak astral spirit, no one gave her a chance to become Queen, not even her own family. Is there any wonder why she decided "To hell with it!" and plotted to burn the Sovereignty to the ground?]]

* ''Film/TheMummy2017:'' Princess Ahmanet is a princess-flavored NephariousPharaoh who killed her father and infant brother for the throne, and is raising an army of the dead to TakeOverTheWorld.

* ''LightNovel/NidomeNoYuusha'': Princess Alesia summons Kaito to her world as the hero who will defeat the Demon King. Once he does, she betrays him. She is also TheCaligula who enslaves her citizens for being poor and persecutes non-humans.

* ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'': Princess Malty Melromarc is arguably the most famous example in anime media. Among her crimes, she gets Naofumi [[FalseRapeAccusation falsely accused of rape]], forces him into a rigged duel that nearly costs him an ally, joins a conspiracy to further demoralize Naofumi, and [[CainAndAbel repeatedly attempts to kill her more benevolent younger sister to have the throne for herself]]. Later, it's revealed that she's essentially a SerialKiller. And these are just in the first three story arcs alone. She continues to get worse.

* ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero:'' Princess Malty S. Melromarc is the BigBad of the series who kicks off the plot by making a FalseRapeAccusation against Naofumi, turning him into an outcast. She also treats her more kind-hearted sister like trash and is behind a lot of the bad happenings in the series. She also screwed over a lot of other people besides Naofumi as well.

The Villainous Princess, on the other hand, is a rebuke of this rule- a princess who serves as a villain. Typically, they will be a BitchInSheepsClothing who seems to fit the image of a PrincessClassic but is hiding their true nature. They can be ruthless, cunning, tyrannical, and total psychopaths underneath their image, but just as often they will be {{Anti Villain}}s who care for their people or have some other sympathetic motivation.

* ''WesternAnimation/ShrekTheThird'': Rapunzel turns out to be on Prince Charming's side as his Queen of Far Far Away and plays the princess in his play.

* ShrektheThird: Rapunzel turns out to be on Prince Charming's side as his Queen of Far Far Away and plays the princess in his play.

Differs from {{The Evil Prince}}(ss) in that the Evil Prince(ss) is specifically gunning for the throne and kills their parents and/or rivals for this purpose, while a Villainous Princess may have a different motivation or M.O., although they can overlap. Also note that they have to be actual royalty to qualify- the AlphaBitch who is an HonoraryPrincess is not this trope.

See also AristocratsAreEvil, the more general tendency for nobility to be villains in fiction.

* ''VideoGame/{{Wadanohara}}:'' Princess Mikotsu is the leader of the enemy kingdom invading the [[TheGoodKingdom Blue Sea Kingdom]] and is a CuteAndPsycho bunny girl with a [[KnifeNut boning knife]]. She serves as the EvilCounterpart to the Princess Uomi. [[spoiler:However, Princess Mikotsu, Uomi's actual sister, is even worse, as she tricked Tostasu into waging war on Uomi so that she can retake the throne as she tried to in the past, which resulted in her getting sealed away in the Red Sea, and EldritchLocation she controls.]]

!Examples:

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Live-Action Films]]

* ''VideoGame/DisneyPrincessEnchantedJourney'': The BigBad [[spoiler:Zara]] was a princess who was banished from her kingdom for refusing to learn princesses' virtues. She commands the Bogs which take over the worlds of other princesses as she believes no one else deserves to be a princess if she can't be one.
* ''VideoGame/{{Kaima}}:'' [[spoiler:Princess Ezel seems to be a benevolent princess, but is actually the one who really caused the impending apocalypse by devouring the souls of her subjects. She goes on to be the TrueFinalBoss of the game.]]

* ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'': In ''Triss'', the main antagonists are the Pure Ferrets, an evil royal family. TheHeavy of the book is Princess Kurda, who leads the royal guard in an attempt to recapture the heroes, who are escaped slaves. Kurda's brother, Prince Bladd, accompanies her, but he is not nearly as cruel or ambitious as her. The BigBad is technically their father, King Agarnu, but Agarnu is so lazy and spineless that he has very little effect on the story.
* ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'': Princess Violet of Tamarang is only [[EnfantTerrible ten years old]], but anyone she takes a disliking to is prone to end up being tortured and/or beheaded on her orders, sometimes for no reason except her own amusement.

* ''LightNovel/NidomeNoYuusha'': Princess Alesia summons Kaito to her world as the hero who will defeat the Demon King. Once he does, she betrays him. She is also TheCaligula who enslaves her citizens for being poor and persecutes non-humans.
* ''LightNovel/Overlord2012'' has Princess Renner Theiere Chardelon Ryle Vaiself or Re-Estize. Intelligent and manipulative, Renner presents herself as a sweet and benevolent princess but is secretly a {{sadist}}ic [[TheSociopath sociopath]] who would not hesitate to kill her own subjects if they anger her, or if it benefits her in some way. The only person she has any affection for is Climb, whom she regards as a puppy rather than his own person, and whom she intends to keep as a chained-up SexSlave. This eventually culminates in [[spoiler:Renner abandoning her humanity and becoming an Imp, after selling out her entire kingdom to [[VillainProtagonist Ainz]]]].
* ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero:'' Princess Malty S. Melromarc is the BigBad of the series who kicks off the plot by making a FalseRapeAccusation against Naofumi, turning him into an outcast. She also treats her more kind-hearted sister like trash and is behind a lot of the bad happenings in the series. She also screwed over a lot of other people besides Naofumi as well.
* ''LightNovel/RedoOfHealer'': Princess Flare Algrande Jioral, who summoned Keyaru from his world, proceeds to turn him into a slave and supports the evil reign of her father, [[BigBad King Proum Jioral]]. Though she is much nicer when [[HeelFaceBrainwashing turned]] into Freia.
* ''LightNovel/TearmoonEmpire'': The VillainProtagonist, Mia Luna Tearmoon, was at the beginning of the story a very selfish princess whose numerous misdeeds included [[MeanBoss abusing her servants]] and neglecting serious disasters affecting her empire like the plague and famine, all because of [[ItsAllAboutMe her inflated ego]], which resulted in her empire overthrowing her and sentencing her to [[OffWithHisHead death by guillotine]]. However, she gets resurrected eight years back in time for a chance to [[HeelFaceTurn turn her behavior and misdeeds around]] and avoid repeating the same outcome, with the narrative poking fun at her SecretlySelfish tendencies every now and again. Her efforts appear to be working, as her bloodstained diary changes the future events that unfold prior to her upcoming execution.

Princesses in fiction come in many varieties, but are almost always on the side of good. Thanks to the influence of the PrincessClassic trope, originating from fairy tale princesses and popularized by the famous Franchise/DisneyPrincess franchise, princesses are often defined by their kindness, and even more unconventional archetypes like the TomboyPrincess, RebelliousPrincess, and PrettyPrincessPowerhouse are typically benevolent characters. Kings and Princes are as likely to be good as they are evil, and TheEmperor is usually a villain, but evil female rulers will typically be [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen queens]] or empresses, as in GoodPrincessEvilQueen.

* ''LightNovel/Overlord2012'' has Princess Renner Theiere Chardelon Ryle Vaiself or Re-Estize. Intelligent and manipulative, Renner presents herself as a sweet and benevolent princess, but is secretly a {{sadist}}ic [[TheSociopath sociopath]] who would not hesitate to kill her own subjects if they anger her, of if it benefits her in some way. The only person she has any affection to is Climb, whom she regards as a puppy rather than his own person, and whom she intends to keep as a chained-up SexSlave. This eventually culminates in [[spoiler:Renner abandoning her humanity and becoming an Imp, after selling out her entire kingdom to [[VillainProtagonist Ainz]]]].

* ''Music/EvilliousChronicles:'' In the ''Daughter of Evil'' series, the titular Princess Riliane Lucifen d'Autriche is the spoiled and wrathful princess of the Kingdom of Lucifenia. Nicknamed the Daughter of Evil, she horribly mistreats her servants and twin brother Allen, and has Allen carry out genocide on the Women of Green because a prince she courted chose one of them over her. [[spoiler:It is only after Allen sacrifices himself to save her life does she reflect on her villainous nature, regretting what she did and going to live in solitude as a nun.]]

* ''VideoGame/DisneyPrincessEnchantedJourney'': The BigBad [[spoiler:Zara]] was a princess who was banished from her kingdom for refusing to learn princesses virtues. She commands the Bogs which take over the worlds of other princesses as she believes no one else deserves to be a princess if she can't be one.

* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam:'' Princess Kycilia Zabi is one of the leaders of the fascist Principality of Zeon, and competing with her brother Prince Gihren for the throne.

* ''LightNovel/Overlord2012'' has Princess Renner Theiere Chardelon Ryle Vaiself or Re-Estize. Intelligent and manipulative, Renner presents herself as a sweet and benevolent princess, but is secretly a sadistic sociopath who would not hesitate to kill her own subjects if they anger her, of if it benefits her in some way. The only person she has any affection to is Climb, whom she regards as a puppy rather than his own person, and whom she intends to keep as a chained-up SexSlave. This eventually culminates in [[spoiler:Renner abandoning her humanity and becoming an Imp, after selling out her entire kingdom to [[VillainProtagonist Ainz]]]].

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': As explained in the [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E1MareInTheMoon show's first episode]], Princess Luna's jealousy turned her into the villainous Night Mare Moon and is the main antagonist for the two-part beginning. Though she gets reformed when the Mane Six eventually turn Luna back to her old self.

[[/folder]]