Introducing 12 More Living Princesses, Beside Kate Middleton

When you think Royal Family, what's the first thing that comes to mind? We bet it's The British Royal family right? They are the most known "royals" but Britain isn't the only country with a royal family. There are other 43 countries that still have a royal family in residence. Some monarchs in this families rule with political power but others are just figureheads, also some of them have huge families and others have no children.

We've compiled a list, there are some countries that you won't find surprising that they still got a royal family, Britain being one of them, Queen Elizabeth II and her family has been in the spotlight constantly, so they are hard to forget; Denmark is probably another country that's on this list and that you probably know about, but there are a lot more. 

Curious to know more about some of the royal families in the world? Let's meet them.

King Willem-Alexander ascended to the throne in 2003 when his mother Queen Beatrix abdicated. The Netherlands has a bicameral parliament so he doesn't rule directly, his power lies in the Council of State, where he is the president. He married Queen Maxima and they have three children; Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane.

The head of the Sweden Royal Family and King of Sweden is Carl XVI Gustaf, he ascended to the throne in 1973 (he was only 27 years old). He is married to Queen Silvia since 1976 and they have three children, the oldest, and set to take the throne when her father dies, is Crown Princess Victoria, She's married to Prince Daniel Westling and they have 2 children, Princess Estelle, and Prince Oscar.

King Harald V ascended the throne of Norway because he was the only male heir of King Olav V and Queen Martha. The Constitution has changed since 1990 and it was amended so that now the oldest child, no matter what gender could be the next in line for the throne. King Harald married for love, Queen Sonja and they have two children Princess Martha (who cannot ascend to throne because she was born before the constitution change) and Crown Prince Haakon who is married to Princess Mette-Merit and they have three children. 

King Philippe is the head of the royal family in Belgium and he ascended to the throne in July 2013 when his father abdicated. He married Queen Mathilde in 1999 and they have four children: Princes Elizabeth (next in line to ascend the throne), Prince Gabriel, Prince Emmanuel, and Princess Eléonore.

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is not a kingdom, that's why it's led by a duke, originally ruled by Grand Duke Adolphe. Grand Duke Henri is a direct descendant from Adolphe and rules since 2000. He married Maria Teresa Mestre and they have five children, Prince Guillaume is the hereditary Grand Duke and is married to Princess Stephanie de Lannoy.

Emperor Nahurito became the  126th "heavenly sovereign" of Japan after his father, Emperor Akihito was allowed to abdicate the throne in December of 2018. He is married to Empress Masako and they have a daughter, Aiko.

Malaysia's new King was crowned in January of 2019, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah took over after his predecessor Sultan Muhammad V abdicated. Malaysia has a unique rotating monarchy system shared between nine households. Under this system, one Sultan from each of the nine royal states become King or Agong every five years. 

King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck was officially coronated as king of Bhutan in 2008 when his father abdicated the throne. He is known as Druk Gyalpo which means "Dragon King" (cool, right?). King Jigme's father was the one that made Bhutan into a constitutional monarchy. He married Jetsun Pema (a commoner) in 2011 and they have a son Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck, future heir to the throne,

King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun became, at the age of 64 the 10th monarch of the Chakri dynasty, He is also known as Rama X, he became ruler of Thailand when his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej passed away in 2016. His coronation took place three years later in May of 2019. Three days before the coronation he married (for the 4th time) his long-time partner and personal bodyguard Queen Suthida. He has a daughter Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana. 

The head of Saudi Arabia's royal family is King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud. Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy so, he's also the prime minister. Salman became king in 2013 (he was 79 years by then) when his half-brother, King Abdullah passed away. He has been married three times and has thirteen children.

Sheikh Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was named emir of Qatar in 2013 after his father's abdication. His father ruled for 18 years and when Tamir took the throne he was only 33. The Al Thani family has been part of a dynasty of rulers in Qatar since 1825.

The ruler of Jordan's Royal Family is King Abdullah II, he ascended the throne in 1999 when his father, King Hussein died. King Abdullah is married to Queen Rania of Jordan, they have four children, the eldest is Crown Prince of Jordan Hussein, who's going to take the throne when his father steps down. King Abdullah and his family claim that they are direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad.

King Mswati III has a lot of power in a relatively small country. He took the throne in 1983 when he was just 18 years old after his father died. As king, he appoints the Parliament. He is known to have many wives (he has at least 15). In his time as a monarch, he has divorce 3 of those wives and has over 30 children. The royal family of Swaziland has been highly criticized because of their lavish lifestyle. 

King Mohammed VI of Morocco ascended the throne when his father passed away in 1999. He married Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Salma, together they have two children: a son who's Crown Prince Moulay Hassan and a daughter Princess Lalla Khadija. As of today, they are divorced.

Now let's get to know a little bit more about some of the living princesses of 11 Royal Families around the world. 

Crown Princess Mary was born in Sydney, Australia where she met Prince Frederik in 2000. They met in a Pub in Australia and from then on all's history. She's one of the most well know royals and is very well adjusted to her life as royalty. She and Prince Frederik have 4 children.

Princess Märtha Louise is the daughter of King Harald V and Queen Sonja, she's fourth in line for the throne. She got married in 2002 with the danish writer, Ari Mikael Behn, they had 3 daughters together They got divorced in August 2005. These days she's in a relationship with Shaman Durek a spiritual adviser.

Crowned Princess Victoria is the eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf and heir apparent to the throne, if she ascends, she'll be the first Queen since 1720. She's married to Daniel Westling, they married in the summer of 2010 and have two children. She works with the UN on issues concerning water and health.

Princess Laurentien is the sister-in-law of King Willem-Alexander and is married to Prince Constantine of the Netherlands, who's the third royal son in the family. They married in The Hague in 2001 and have three children, Eloise, Claus-Kasimir and Leonore. She divides her time between her royal duties and fighting illiteracy. 

Princess Chimi Yangzom is a half-sister to the current King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel. She majored in International relationships and Economics from Wellesley College and has Masters Degree in Public Administration from Columbia University. She's married to Dasho Sangay Wangchuck and they have two sons.

Princess Mako is a member of the Japanese Imperial family, she is niece to the current Emperor Naruhito. She started her public life as a member of the Imperial family in 2011 when she received the Order of the Precious Crown. She is engaged to marry a commoner Kei Komuro, if she goes on with the marriage (it has been put on hold), she will lose her title and become a commoner. 

She's the only daughter of King Maha Vajiralongkorn. She only became a princess in 2005 by a royal command from her grandfather which elevated her to this status. She's a professional badminton player and an acclaimed fashion designer, her clothes have featured in Paris and Bangkok Fashion Week.

Tunku Myra epitomized female empowerment among the royals of Malaysia. She owns an event management company and also helps his father Besar Kecil of Negeri, with the royal duties. She has been married to Dato James Jafar-Greaves for 13 years.

Source: dihyya/Tumblr
 

Princess Lalla Salma married King Mohammed VI, she is the first wife of a Moroccan ruler to earn the title. She and King Mohammed announced they were getting divorced in 2018. They have two children. Princess Lalla founded in 2005 The Lalla Salma Foundation, which is a  prevention association that raises cancer awareness.

Princess Haya of Jordan is the half-sister of King Abdullah II, daughter of the deceased King Hussein of Jordan and his third wife Queen Alia. Princess Haya is a graduate from Oxford University in England and an accomplished equestrian. She married Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of the Emirate of Dubai and became his sixth wife. She has two children with him, she took them with her in June 2019 when she fled form Dubai. She has filed for divorce from the Sheikh and is seeking custody of her sons.

Princess Sikhanyiso is the first daughter of Prince King Mswati III (he has 30 children) and his first wife. She was educated in Britain and has her fair share of controversies mainly because she has been an advocate against polygamy. She's a rebel of her country's traditions (including the traditional dresses), she's an actress and a rapper.

Princess Alexandra is the only daughter of Grand Duke Henri and Duchess Maria Theresa. She was once excluded from the line of succession, but that changed in 2011 and now she's 5th in the line of succession.

For the women of the list above being a princess isn't a dream but a reality. It's true that they live a comfortable and luxurious life but they also have challenges that we can image are sometimes overwhelming. Some married their "Prince Charming" but other's they're still looking,