The Most Beautiful Princesses And Queens In History

Beauty is, of course, an eternally subjective concept. But there is an enduring archetype of fairytale beauty — like something out of the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen. And sometimes, the glamour of the quintessential fairytale princess equates to the glamour of real-life royalty.

In this day and age, people like Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton are certainly perpetuating the elegant sophistication that figures like the late Princess Diana brought to British royalty. But the world has always had its share of princesses and queens who were so stunning they could have (and, indeed, sometimes did) come straight out of a Hollywood (or Disney) film. 

Some of these women are well known and others have been largely lost to the obscurity of pop culture, if not history. But all of these women are definitely as dazzling as anything out of a storybook, in their own ways.

Grace Kelly, arguably the most famous movie-star-turned-princess who ever lived, started out as an actress whose talent was commensurate with her beauty. She gave stunning performances in 1953's "Mogambo" and 1954's "The Country Girl," and was mesmerizing in the three films she did with Alfred Hitchcock.

Despite the promise of her career, Kelly chose to "retire" from acting when she met Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1955. In 1956, the two wed. Though Hitchcock subsequently approached Kelly and asked her to play the lead role in "Marnie" (which ended up going to Tippi Hedren), Kelly declined, citing her royal duties. Apparently because of royal propriety, her films were banned in Monaco, and some say that she went on to regret giving up her career. Kelly tragically died in a car accident at the age of 52, but the legacy of her glamour and intelligence lives on.

Princess Marie of Edinburgh was born to Russian Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna and Prince Alfred Duke of Edinburgh in 1875. Nicknamed "Missy," the princess possessed an "Alice in Wonderland" like beauty in her youth. She was known for her "sparkling blue eyes and silky fair hair, framing delicate features," as Julia P. Gilardi put it in her book "Born to Rule." Said to have been courted by Winston Churchill, Marie eventually wed Prince Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Romania.  

In addition to giving birth to six children, Marie worked as a nurse during World War II. According to an account in the National Business Times, she eventually settled by the Black Sea, dying of cirrhosis in 1938. Poetically, her heart was removed from her body and buried with her husband, but later exhumed and moved to several places throughout the Carpathian mountains, including the famous Bran (Dracula's) castle in Transylvania. 

The daughter of Maria of Aragon and Manuel I of Portugal, Isabella of Portugal, born in 1503, had a happy childhood and grew up to be a beautiful girl, celebrated for her learned intelligence. In 1526, she wed Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, thereby becoming Queen of Spain. 

As author and British historian Henry Kamen explained it, though the marriage had initially been motivated by political factors, the two quickly fell in deep and abiding love. Their union, interrupted as it was by Charles' frequent travels, was a happy one, until Isabella tragically died of complications surrounding one of her pregnancies.

By all accounts, Charles V was completely devastated; he is said to have dressed in black for the rest of his days, and he never remarried. Isabella's beauty was later captured by the great painter Titian, after the grief-stricken Charles commissioned him to paint a portrait of his wife.

Born on August 31, 1970, Rania Al-Yassin became queen consort of Jordan after she married Prince Abdullah, who later became king. Queen Rania is as celebrated for her philanthropy, business sense, and widespread use of social media as she is for her looks. According to Business Insider, she once held high-powered positions at companies like Citibank and Apple, and has over 6 million Instagram followers.

In 2016, she gave an interview to CNN, in which she discussed subjects like unemployment and poverty, education, the Syrian refugee crisis (particularly as it relates to children) and religious extremism. "Extremists historically always rely on the complacency of moderates," she pointed out. "They think that we're not going to do anything. They mobilize, and we don't."

Moreover, the queen uses her official website largely to promote various humanitarian causes. All of which makes her the perfect combination of beauty and brains. 

Queen Nefertiti may be second only to Cleopatra, as far as the beauty of ancient queens goes. And she might even be first, at that. The wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten, she reigned during the 14th century B.C., and was known for her love of art. She and her husband had six daughters and may have had a son. The royal couple also worshiped Aten, the sun god, and established a dignified (i.e. non-Manson-like) cult around him. 

Most accounts maintain that Nefertiti was as powerful as her husband, and some historians even believe that she may have dressed herself as a man. Her name literally translates to "a beautiful woman has come," and the bust of her that was found in 1913 indeed seems to confirm her comeliness. Said artifact portrays her as being tall and angular, with sculpted cheekbones, a Mona Lisa-like smile, and a placid expression of wisdom. 

Princess Madeleine's eyebrows alone make us 110% jealous. Just look at them — they're perfect. But there are a number of other reasons why Princess Madeleine of Sweden has made it onto this list. Not only is she stunning, but she carries herself in an absolutely gorgeous, confident manner. As noted by Town & Country, the Swedish royal family has been known for pulling off some pretty iconic beauty and fashion moments, and Princess Madeleine has been right there with the rest of her family. She is "not afraid of bold colors and sees few occasions as unfit for a tiara or elaborate headpiece," which honestly, sounds like the best way to live. 

Some of the princess' standout moments have been at the World Childhood Foundation Gala in 2019, when she wore an absolutely gorgeous silver gown, and at the Nobel Prize awarding ceremony in 2016, when she was spotted in a luscious pink gown and a massive tiara. Princess Madeleine is known for many things — like her philanthropy and her charity work — but she is also known for her beauty and grace.

If there is one monarch on this list who really gives others a run for their money, it's Queen Jetsun Pema of Bhutan. Married to King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, Pema is absolutely stunning, and, as noted by Hello! magazine, she has "been praised by royal fans for her striking beauty, turning heads with effortlessly glamorous hair and make-up looks." Pema always looks beautiful — there's seriously no doubt about that — but some of her looks have really stood out from the crowd. 

While on a trip to Japan, Pema looked stunning — she had a touch of black eyeliner on and a nude pink lip and had her hair pulled back. While in Tokyo, she went pretty much makeup-free and still looked absolutely gorgeous. Of course, the queen also looked absolutely stunning on her wedding day, keeping her makeup really, really simple. She pretty much only added a slight smokey eye and styled her hair in loose curls. 

We're obsessed with Queen Jetsun — there's no doubt about it. It just might be time to start a petition to have Pema start a blog where she dishes on all of her beauty and fashion secrets.

We're going way back into the history books for this. One of the most beautiful monarchs in history was Catherine of Aragon, Dowager Princess of Wales, who lived from 1485 until 1536. She was, unfortunately, married to King Henry VIII (the one with all the wives that you remember from your history class), but she made quite the name for herself. According to PopSugar, her "red-gold hair and blue eyes" were positively breathtaking. 

As noted by Factinate, Catherine's life was not a walk in the park, but she didn't let the challenges she faced get in the way of her goals. "I choose what I believe, and say nothing," she reportedly once wrote in a letter, "for I am not as simple as I may seem." As far as her beauty was concerned, Catherine was striking. Factinate reported that people called her "the most beautiful creature in the world," and a courtier at the time was noted to have said that "there were few women who could compete with the Queen in her prime." 

Catherine died at just 50 years old, but her legacy of beauty, grace, and power lives on.