History Main / RagstoRoyalty

* The 1987 Ally Sheedy vehicle ''Film/MaidToOrder'' offers a modern King Thrushbeard in the story of a wild spendthrift heiress who is magically banished into the working class to learn humility, compassion and the value of a buck, thanks to her Fairy Godmother.

A classic of {{literature}}, this ChangelingFantasy is as simple as it is sublime: the [[BeautyEqualsGoodness beautiful]], [[CinderellaCircumstances hard working]], [[ThePollyanna put upon]] commoner girl who never loses her hope will be a princess or queen by the story's end. That much is certain, what varies is ''how'' she goes from Rags to Royalty. The following is a non-exhaustive list of common variations:

* ''Fanfic/WhoseWoodsTheseAreIThinkIKnow'': In this Cinderella AU, this is Marinette’s backstory. In this version, Adrien is in the Cinderella role, and Marinette herself is the princess and heir to the throne, who sneaks out to be Ladybug and help the people. Adrien never suspects her royal roots because she told him her mother used to be a baker. At the ball, even after discovering her true status, he finds out that she was actually telling the truth—her mother was indeed a baker who had a child with the current king, and Marinette grew up in poverty. No one thought she’d ever be accepted into court, especially not Adrien’s stepsister, Chloé, who loved to bully her. But against all odds, King Thomas not only has his daughter present at court, he also names her his heir. Eventually, she wins OneHundredPercentApprovalRating with the people for her kindness and charm.

* '''Literature/SleepingBeauty Style:''' Like the Snow White, she's [[HiddenBackupPrince royalty and forced into hiding for protection.]] Unlike the Snow White, she has no idea she has a SecretLegacy and is [[ReallyRoyaltyReveal actually royalty]]. Of course, her GenreBlind guardians [[PoorCommunicationKills feel she's safer]] [[LockedOutOfTheLoop not knowing]] her ancestry ''or'' that there are evil forces seeking to harm her, or possibly they don't know either. You can guess how that ends. (''Note: Named after the Disney version of the story only.'') The classic GenderFlip version is, of course, KingArthur. It also features in such fairy tales as ''Literature/TheDancingWaterTheSingingAppleAndTheSpeakingBird''

* ''Fanfic/WhichWoodsTheseAreIThinkIKnow'': In this Cinderella AU, this is Marinette’s backstory. In this version, Adrien is in the Cinderella role, and Marinette herself is the princess and heir to the throne, who sneaks out to be Ladybug and help the people. Adrien never suspects her royal roots because she told him her mother used to be a baker. At the ball, even after discovering her true status, he finds out that she was actually telling the truth—her mother was indeed a baker who had a child with the current king, and Marinette grew up in poverty. No one thought she’d ever be accepted into court, especially not Adrien’s stepsister, Chloé, who loved to bully her. But against all odds, King Thomas not only has his daughter present at court, he also names her his heir. Eventually, she wins OneHundredPercentApprovalRating with the people for her kindness and charm.

* ''Fanfic/WhichWoodsTheseAreIThinkIKnow'': In this Cinderella AU, this is Marinette’s backstory. In this version, Adrien is in the Cinderella role, and Marinette herself is the princess and heir to the throne, who sneaks out to be Ladybug and help the people. Adrien never suspects her royal roots because she told him her mother used to be a baker. At the ball, even after discovering her true status, he finds out that she was actually telling the truth—her mother was indeed a baker who had a child with the current king, and Marinette grew up in poverty. No one thought she’d ever be accepted into court, especially not Adrien’s stepsister, Chloé, who loved to bully her. But against all odds, King Thomas not only has his daughter present at court, he also names her his heir. Eventually, she wins OneHundredPercentApprovalRating with the people for her kindness and charm.

* ''Fanfic/WhichWoodsTheseAreIThinkIKnow'': In this Cinderella AU, this is Marinette’s backstory. In this version, Adrien is in the Cinderella role, and Marinette herself is the princess and heir to the throne, who sneaks out to be Ladybug and help the people. Adrien never suspects her royal roots because she told him her mother used to be a baker. At the ball, even after discovering her true status, he finds out that she was actually telling the truth—her mother was indeed a baker who had a child with the current king, and Marinette grew up in poverty. No one thought she’d ever be accepted into court, especially not Adrien’s stepsister, Chloé, who loved to bully her. But against all odds, King Thomas not only has his daughter present at court, he also names her his heir. Eventually, she wins OneHundredPercentApprovalRating with the people for her kindness and charm.

* ''Fanfic/WhichWoodsTheseAreIThinkIKnow'': In this Cinderella AU, this is Marinette’s backstory. In this version, Adrien is in the Cinderella role, and Marinette herself is the princess and heir to the throne, who sneaks out to be Ladybug and help the people. Adrien never suspects her royal roots because she told him her mother used to be a baker. At the ball, even after discovering her true status, he finds out that she was actually telling the truth—her mother was indeed a baker who had a child with the current king, and Marinette grew up in poverty. No one thought she’d ever be accepted into court, especially not Adrien’s stepsister, Chloé, who loved to bully her. But against all odds, King Thomas not only has his daughter present at court, he also names her his heir. Eventually, she wins OneHundredPercentApprovalRating with the people for her kindness and charm.

* ''Fanfic/WhichWoodsTheseAreIThinkIKnow'': In this Cinderella AU, this is Marinette’s backstory. In this version, Adrien is in the Cinderella role, and Marinette herself is the princess and heir to the throne, who sneaks out to be Ladybug and help the people. Adrien never suspects her royal roots because she told him her mother used to be a baker. At the ball, even after discovering her true status, he finds out that she was actually telling the truth—her mother was indeed a baker who had a child with the current king, and Marinette grew up in poverty. No one thought she’d ever be accepted into court, especially not Adrien’s stepsister, Chloé, who loved to bully her. But against all odds, King Thomas not only has his daughter present at court, he also names her his heir. Eventually, she wins OneHundredPercentApprovalRating with the people for her kindness and charm.

* ''Anime/MaiOtome'':
** There's a reasonably clever subversion in the anime. From the start we're expected to figure out that Mashiro isn't the real princess - meanwhile, the main character, Arika, conspicuously has the same birthday and a [[OrphansPlotTrinket prerequisite necklace]] and all. But as it turns out, that's a RedHerring, and in fact, it's Nina, the RivalTurnedEvil, who unbeknowst to all was the princess. The scene in which BigBad Nagi finds out is ''priceless''. Ultimately thanks to CharacterDevelopment, Mashiro turns out to be the one best suited to be a princess anyway. [[spoiler:''Anime/MaiOtomeZwei'' hints that Mashiro ''might'' be a legit heir after all -- she ''greatly'' resembles the Queen of Windbloom from 300 years ago.]]
** The [[Manga/MaiOtome manga]] has a good subversion as well. The "Mashiro" we know in the story is an impostor for the real (deceased) Mashiro, that was clear from the first chapter. Then it turns out the real Mashiro isn't dead. [[spoiler:THEN it turns out the impostor was Mashiro's ''twin brother'', secreted away Sleeping Beauty style in case Mashiro went insane and/or died. In a few chapters he went from an impostor to nobody to the sole heir of Windbloom (once the real Mashiro bit the dust for realsies, anyway).]]

** Ends up being a DoubleSubversion in Griffith's case, after much time and plot developments; he is now the leader of a reformed, even stronger Band of the Hawk ([[spoiler:which is like that mainly because most of the [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Apostles]] are part of it]]), he's again set to marry Charlotte, is viewed by commoners, nobles and the Church of the Holy See as a messiah, and has miraculously established a new capital called Falconia on the site of Midland's old capital, now the site of TheWorldTree ([[spoiler:what Emperor Ganishka became after Griffith tricked the Skull Knight into striking him with his Behelit sword]]) which is probably the only safe haven in the world now that [[TheMagicComesBack all the creatures and monsters of myth and legend are now again fact]], and most are extremely hostile to humans ([[spoiler:another intended consequence of the aforementioned strike]]). Not bad for someone who just a few years before waS reduced to almost nothing in pretty much every sense of the word. [[spoiler:All he had to do was stike a DealWithTheDevil, activate the [[ArtifactOfDoom Egg of the King]], and [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness sacrifice all those he cared about]] to be [[FateWorseThanDeath devoured body and soul]] by TheLegionsOfHell to become a {{Demon Lord|s And Archdevils}} himself.]]

* ''Anime/CodeGeass''

* ''Franchise/StarWars''

*** The player character him/herself can also undergo this in a RichesToRags to Royalty fashion if the Warden is of the human noble origin. If that's the case, the Warden is the younger son/only daughter of the Cousland family, who are second highest in precedence only to the royal family themselves, but the events of their origin story have caused them to become a Goose Girl/Guy. [[spoiler:This Warden can become Prince Consort (if male) by marrying dowager Queen Anora, or Queen-Consort (if female) by marrying the hardened Alistair.]]

* Crono, main protagonist of ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', starts the game as a normal commoner boy who happens to meet {{Rebellious Princess}} Nadia, a.k.a. Marle, at his village's Millennial Fair, and proceeds to [[AlwaysSaveTheGirl go after her]] when she falls into a time portal. After embarking on an adventure to save the world from an alien life form destined to destroy the planet in the future, the ending animated cutscene shows a happy Crono and Marle on their wedding day.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

** Similarly with Havelock in ''Havelock the Dane''.

* '''Literature/{{Cinderella}} Style:''' A commoner by birth, or with only minor ties to [[BlueBlood nobility]]. Nonetheless, through hard work, perseverance, and the help of some musical animals, she'll swoop into the ball and make the prince her "husband". Other classics of this type: ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' and ''[[Literature/TheBible King David]]''

* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' [[spoiler:It is revealed that Steven's mom Rose Quartz (who became a part of him) is actually Pink Diamond and on homeworld Diamonds are the monarchy making him a sleeping beauty while Rose Quartz herself was a Snow White since she faked her own shattering and hid away as a Rose Quartz.]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

* Disney later subverts this with ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog''. Tiana marries Prince Naveen and officially becomes a princess by marriage. But she doesn't get the royal treatment and instead opens up her own restaurant with Naveen.

* The Bonaparte family, including Joachim Murat, Napoleon's brother-in-law. The Bonapartes were impoverished Corsican aristocrats (making them foreigners in the eyes of the traditional French aristocracy[[note]] Strictly speaking, Corsica was Genoese territory mortgaged to France pending the repayment of Genoa's debts to France - not that there was a realistic chance of Genoa ever raising the necessary cash - and only legally became part of France through a decree of the National Assembly during the French Revolution.[[/note]]) before Napoleon rose to the throne of France, while Murat was the son of an innkeeper - and mostly got his crown because he married Caroline, the youngest of the Bonaparte siblings.

* Similiar to Kate Middleton is Michiko Shoda, now known as Empress Emerita Michiko of Japan. Born into a wealthy but common family, she met the then Crown Prince Akihito at a tennis match and they soon fell in love. The media even portrayed their meeting as a "real fairy tale" and a "romance on the tennis court". Michiko became the first woman from outside of the traditional aristocracy to marry a future emperor. Their marriage wasn't a complete fairy tale, however; traditionalists, including [[ObnoxiousInLaws Akihito's mother]] opposed their marriage, both because of her common status and the fact that her family was Roman Catholic, to the point she was temporarily PutOnABus to Brussels, in hopes the relationship would dissolve and her family received death threats. Despite this, they also had plenty of support by the public and the marrage was seen as a sign of Japan's modernization and democratization.

* In "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/maidmaleen/index.html Maid Maleen]]", after the princess falls in love with a prince [[ParentalMarriageVeto her father does not approve of]], the father imprisons her in a tower. Then he loses his kingdom and is unable to get her out. She and her maid burrow out and live in appalling poverty until she can find her way to the prince's kingdom and win him back.
--->''Oh, nettle-plant,\

** Daniel's mother in law, Queen Silvia, was also this; she was a hostess at the 1972 Summer Olympics, and it was there she met then-Crown Prince Carl Gustaf. Carl, as he explained in an interview, just "clicked" with Silvia, and four years later they were engaged; when they married the next year, Carl was already king, so Silvia skipped the princess role, going straight to Queen.

* Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby was a common single-mom before she married Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and became Crown princess.

** Technically, she is royalty: her first important ancestor drank pure mana from the Fountain of the Goddess (in this world, drinking mana kills most people from the neural strain) and lived. The head priestess declared him the consort of the goddess, possibly married him, and ever since all the heterodynes have the power to drink from one of the only sources of pure mana and live. Jaegers gain their superpowers by drinking a diluted, processed version of the mana, which says a lot about the claim to divine right.

** Chibiusa is a Snow White type, coming back in time to before her mother rose to power to receive senshi training and having to live like a civilian with Usagi and her family. Subverted in the sense that the senshi already know she's a princess. [[spoiler: After all, she's Mamoru and Usagi's future daughter, though they don't learn that detail until later.]]

** The [[Manga/MaiOtome manga]] has a good subversion as well. The "Mashiro" we know in the story is an impostor for the real (deceased) Mashiro, that was clear from the first chapter. Then it turns out the real Mashiro isn't dead. [[spoiler: THEN it turns out the impostor was Mashiro's ''twin brother'', secreted away Sleeping Beauty style in case Mashiro went insane and/or died. In a few chapters he went from an impostor to nobody to the sole heir of Windbloom (once the real Mashiro bit the dust for realsies, anyway).]]

** [[spoiler: Kaitou]] turns out to be a Sleeping Beauty, [[spoiler: as the lost prince of a destroyed mermaid kingdom who was adopted by humans as a child.]]

** Ends up being a DoubleSubversion in Griffith's case, after much time and plot developments; he is now the leader of a reformed, even stronger Band of the Hawk ([[spoiler:which is like that mainly because most of the [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Apostles]] are part of it]]), he's again set to marry Charlotte, is viewed by commoners, nobles and the Church of the Holy See as a messiah, and has miraculously established a new capital called Falconia on the site of Midland's old capital, now the site of TheWorldTree ([[spoiler:what Emperor Ganishka became after Griffith tricked the Skull Knight into striking him with his Behelit sword]]) which is probably the only safe haven in the world now that [[TheMagicComesBack all the creatures and monsters of myth and legend are now again fact]], and most are extremely hostile to humans ([[spoiler:another intended consequence of the aforementioned strike]]). Not bad for someone who just a few years before waS reduced to almost nothing in pretty much every sense of the word. [[spoiler: All he had to do was stike a DealWithTheDevil, activate the [[ArtifactOfDoom Egg of the King]], and [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness sacrifice all those he cared about]] to be [[FateWorseThanDeath devoured body and soul]] by TheLegionsOfHell to become a {{Demon Lord|s And Archdevils}} himself.]]
* [[spoiler: Vivio]] of ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' is a Sleeping Beauty, [[CloneJesus being the clone of an]] [[WarriorPrince Ancient Belkan king]]. She probably also wishes that she never found out about who she was considering [[TheyCallMeMisterTibbs how she hates being addressed as "Your Highness"]] and prefers others to just treat her as an ordinary (if exceptionally skilled) 9-year old.

** In the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue, it's revealed that [[spoiler: the Narutaki twins Fuka and Fumika]] picked up a pair of animals which turned out to be princes from the MagicWorld. Within five years they were married and already had their first kids.
** Similarly, [[spoiler: CuteBookworm Satomi Hakase]] is implied to have become a Cinderella. [[spoiler: She's a ''very'' smart student from Earth who's all but stated to have married [[MayDecemberRomance a much older man]] in a ''very'' high position of political power in the Magical World. Said man is none other than governor Kurt Godel.]]

* Empress Marianne of ''Anime/CodeGeass'' would be a definite Cinderella case, a commoner by birth who rose to prominence as one of the Knights of the Round, before becoming one of TheEmperor's imperial consorts.
** Her children Lelouch and Nunnally also fit into this trope, as Snow Whites. They know they're royals, but have been sent away to the former Japan and then to a BoardingSchool for rich kids and thus few people (at the start) know who they truly are.
*** [[spoiler: Both Lelouch and Nunnally become Emperor and Empress respectively, while Lelouch posing as TheCaligula by [[TheUsurper usurping the throne]], all for world peace, while Nunnally stats her way as a potential TheHighQueen shortly after Lelouch's ThanatosGambit, ushering the said era of peace.]]

** [[spoiler:Jeanne de la Motte/Valois]], a Cinderella type (in the [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade very fictionalized manga/anime]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_Valois_de_la_Motte Real Life]]). [[spoiler: And the most twisted Cinderella ''ever''. A beautiful peasant girl raised by the seamstress Nicole Lamorliere, she claims to be a long lost Valois princess and manages to get an old noblewoman to listen to her plight, then kills her benefactor to inherit her riches. It gets worse, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affair_of_the_Diamond_Necklace and worse, and worse]]... ]]

** And to finish the thread, [[spoiler: Rosalie's aforementioned biological mother, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabrielle_de_Polastron,_duchesse_de_Polignac Yolande Martine Gabrielle de Polastron aka the Duchess of Polignac]] ]] was a Cinderella, also both here and in RealLife ([[HistoricalVillainUpgrade though the ROV version was... highly fictionalized too]]). [[spoiler: She ''was'' a minor noblewoman born in an ImpoverishedPatrician family and married to an equally impoverished count but she used her beauty, charm, singing talent and manipulation tactics to become UsefulNotes/MarieAntoinette's PoisonousFriend.]])
* Nadja Applefield from ''Anime/AshitaNoNadja'' is a big case of Sleeping Beauty. Nadja was raised in an English OrphanageOfLove and always believed her parents died of illness; when she's about to turn 13 and leave, however, she's sent a trunk with her mom's ''very'' fine belongings and a card that says her mother is actually alive. What is ''not'' exactly explained in the card is that [[spoiler: said mother is a member of an ''extremely'' rich and noble clan in Austria... and that many people want Nadja out of the way since she's the biggest candidate to be the heiress of said clan. Even when she only wants to find her beloved mother.]] From the moment Nadja finds out and leaves her OrphanageOfLove to work with the Dandelion Troupe, she goes from Sleeping Beauty to Snow White: one of her goals is learning more about her mother and her biological family, as well as meeting up with her.
* From ''Manga/FushigiYuugi'', there's You Houki. She was a [[CountryMouse poor farm girl]], taking care of her ailing father, when she was asked to join the emperor's harem (much to the ire of her former boyfriend Suu, later revealed to be [[spoiler: a Goose Guy and Hotohori's half-brother]]). She didn't want to go at first, but her father pressured her saying she'd have a better life. [[spoiler: Hotohori eventually chooses her to be his Empress Consort, and after he dies, she becomes a kind Empress Dowager who supports their son and future Emperor.]]
* [[spoiler: Sumi Kitamura]] from ''Manga/SteppingOnRoses''. [[spoiler: She's a Sleeping Beauty because she's Aiko, the sister of her arranged husband Soichirou's rival Nozomu Iijuin; she went lost as a very little girl, and was found by a then teen-aged Eisuke Kitamura in a rose garden.]]
* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', in the Dressrosa arc, [[spoiler: the Toy Soldier/Kyros]] was revealed to be a lowly street thug before [[spoiler: marrying Rebecca's mother, Scarlett]] and becoming a member of royalty. [[spoiler: However, it's subverted since Scarlett gave up her status as a princess and faked her death (with her family's help) so she could marry him. Kyros was never officially a member of the royal family.]]
* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', [[spoiler: Krista Lenz]] is actually a HeroicBastard unaware of their true heritage. [[spoiler: She's actually Historia Reiss, the only surviving child of the real King that rules the lands within the Walls]]. After this is discovered, the Survey Corps plans a coup d'état to overthrow the corrupt elements of the government with them as a new figurehead. [[spoiler: The rebellion succeeds, with Historia taking the throne and immediately going about addressing many of the injustices in society. She frees the people long trapped in the underground slums, settling them on land seized from corrupt officials. She re-purposes this land for orphanages and farmland, providing for her people after many years of oppression and starvation]].

* Because of a cough during a reincarnation spell, unlike ''Anime/SailorMoon'' canon where Usagi is the long lost princess, [[Franchise/LyricalNanoha Nanoha Takamachi]] is the Sleeping Beauty Moon Princess in ''Fanfic/WhiteDevilOfTheMoon''. Also unlike Usagi, Nanoha is ''not'' happy to hear about it, especially when she gets a look at her past self and starts viewing it as a King Thrushbeard situation. [[spoiler: She ultimately declines to revive the Moon Kingdom, preferring her job at the TSAB.]]

* This is the plot of the first chapter of the ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' fanfic ''Fanfic/HalfPastAdventure'', with an adoption version of the Cinderella story. [[spoiler: Although it's not actually the Princess who adopts her but [[AscendedExtra the Duke of Nuts]]]].

** If ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' is taken into consideration, Han could be a descendant of the family that ruled Corellia in the distant past. ''Could'' because 1) the claimant to the throne Han's descended from could be an impostor, 2) number 1 could have just been said to make Han's heritage more opaque by his request, 3) Corellia's a democracy anyway at this point, and 4) the whole point of that was to prove that Han had the heritage and credentials to marry Princess Leia... but they weren't going to let anything stop them from doing that anyway, especially since the only real threat to their engagement found love elsewhere.
*** Which if the above is taken into consideration means their three children [[spoiler: and granddaughter]] also are descendants of royalty. [[spoiler: Then again, their granddaughter is already a Snow White, the lost heir to the Hapes Consortium.]]

* The eponymous ''Film/KingRalph'' is a male Cinderella, though he's not exactly sweeping princesses off their feet. Rather, he comes by his office by accident of birth, after every other member of the royal family dies in an explosion. [[spoiler: He eventually finds proof that his chief advisor Cedric has more right to the throne than him, but initially [[RefusalOfTheCall refused the call]] because he feared being king and had no heirs. Ralph abdicates in Cedric's favor after securing a deal that ensured thousands of jobs for Brits, though considering Cedric's still childless, it's likely Ralph, or his son Ralph II, will inherit eventually anyway.]]

* ''Film/{{Overboard|1987}}'' has a similar plot, only it was a case of accidental amnesia and the scheme of a lower class workman (that the spoiled heiress had earlier insulted) that sent her to live the life of a poor housewife. [[spoiler: She regains her memory and wealth at the end of the story, and marries the poor workman after dumping the loathsome husband she'd had before the accident.]]

* In ''Film/TheManInTheIronMask'', Phillippe is literally in rags in prison. [[spoiler: He ends up ruling France, with his EvilTwin Louis in prison.]]

* ''Film/KingsmanTheGoldenCircle'': [[spoiler: Eggsy, who grew up poor and surrounded by degenerates, marries Tilde, crown princess of Sweden. Doubles, technically speaking, as a WarriorPrince]].

* In ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', the Whistler family aren't really poor, but Jerin is used to hard work, and does all the cooking, washing, etc. for a ''big'' household as his main responsibility, with the help of as many younger sisters as he can get to help him. Once his royal heritage is revealed (his grandfather Alannon was a prince), Jerin [[spoiler: becomes a SuddenlySuitableSuitor to the princesses of the realm, and, after some obstacles are removed, is engaged to marry them.]]

** ''Literature/WyrdSisters'' is also a subversion of the male Sleeping Beauty: [[spoiler: Like Carrot, Tomjon doesn't want the job once he learns his heritage, so it instead goes to his half-brother Verence who's actually a half-brother on the ''mother's'' side and so, strictly speaking, doesn't have RoyalBlood at all]].

* Thanks to RoyallyScrewedUp, in ''Literature/DeepSecret'', [[spoiler: Maree, Nick, and ''[[InterspeciesRomance Rob the Centaur]]'' are all secretly Princes/Princesses; Nick / Nicothodes is of the Snow White variety, while Maree and Rob are both Sleeping Beauties. While Maree / Sempronia is technically the eldest and next in line, Rob the centaur in the one who ascends to the throne. Sort of.]]

* In John Barnes' ''Literature/OneForTheMorningGlory'', Calliope is secretly the princess of a neighboring country, smuggled to safety. [[spoiler: She ends up [[RightfulKingReturns getting herself crowned]] and then marrying Prince Amatus and being queen, although at one point she does wish that she could marry Amatus as just the nobleman's daughter she passes herself off as; as a princess, the political aspects are a little obvious.]]

* Princess Augusta [[spoiler: a.k.a. Mickle]] of Creator/LloydAlexander's ''Literature/{{Westmark}}'' is a combination Sleeping Beauty/Goose Girl type: she doesn't remember her royal heritage thanks to traumatic amnesia, and the country believes that she's dead. Deconstructed somewhat in the sequels, where noble and foreign disapproval of her commoner upbringing sets the plot in motion.

** Nanjii, (Katanjii's older brother [[spoiler: becoming the world's greatest swordsman, when he had started out as a poor protege]]).
** Sonshu, the main protagonist [[spoiler: becomes a king who is well-loved]] despite spending most of the story being despised by everyone.
** Jaa, Sonshu's love interest and a slave [[spoiler: becomes Sonshu's queen]].
* [[spoiler: Octavian]] in the ''Literature/CodexAlera'' series is a male in the Sleeping Beauty style, and [[spoiler: his mother Isana]] was a Cinderella in the backstory and is a Goose Girl during the events of the main plot. [[spoiler: Octavian]] only reveals his birthright after he has proven himself a brilliant military commander.

* In Creator/CSLewis' ''Literature/TheHorseAndHisBoy'': [[spoiler: Shasta is Prince Cor, heir to the Archenland throne. He's a Sleeping Beauty type as he didn't know about that until the end, and only escaped from Calormen because neither he nor Bree wanted to be MadeASlave. At the end, Cor grows into TheWisePrince and a ReasonableAuthorityFigure as King Cor of Archenland.]]
** Likewise, [[spoiler: his {{foil}} Aravis was a Snow White: she ran away from her noble Calormen home after being badly shaken by the death of her much loved older brother ''and'' trying to escape from being the TrophyWife to a high-ranked and much older SmugSnake (which was [[ArrangedMarriage arranged]] by her WickedStepmother). She becomes Cor's traveling companion, then girlfriend, then wife, and with time, the Queen Consort of Archenland.]]

* The protagonist of ''The Bitterbynde'' undergoes an ''extremely'' dramatic Cinderella transformation. At the start of the first book, she's a deformed, nameless, spurned, and hated scullery servant in a noble house. By midway through the second book, [[spoiler: she's won a name, a title and land, and is engaged to the King-Emperor, although this does not last.]]

** His LoveInterest Laeshana is a fairly straight Cinderella. She is born into the white-sashes, the small caste of peasant mages despised by Caederan's nobility. However, her hard work, native brilliance, and loyalty to Prince Alaric conspire such that by the end of the story [[spoiler: she is the second most powerful mage in the world and Crown Prince Alaric's bride.]]
* The Cinderella variant is played with, gender switched, and ultimately averted in ''[[Literature/{{Temeraire}} Crucible of Gold]]''. Captain John Granby was born the third son of a Newcastle coal-merchant and his commission in the [[DragonRider Aerial Corps]] is if anything a step ''down'' by British standards. However when his dragon goes behind his back and gets him presented as a prospective political match for the Empress of the Inca he is anything but pleased [[spoiler: and would not have been even if he were [[StraightGay terribly interested in women]].]] His joy at the arrival of Napoleon is palpable.

* Guinevere does it Cinderella style on ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'' going from serving girl to Queen of Camelot by becoming Arthur's wife. [[spoiler: And in the final episode, she becomes Queen Regnant when Arthur bequeaths Camelot to her.]]

** Tetra of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' follows the Sleeping Beauty version of this trope, [[spoiler: though in a partial subversion, she doesn't get to really return to her status as royalty because the entire Kingdom of Hyrule pulls an Atlantis and stays forever sealed at the bottom of the Great Sea. This doesn't really bother her much, though, because she hates being called Princess Zelda anyway.]]
** [[spoiler: Midna]] in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' is another Snow White example.

* In ''VideoGame/Disgaea3AbsenceOfJustice'', [[spoiler: Almaz]] is a Cinderella example in two of the endings. [[spoiler: In the Good ending, he ends up marrying Princess Sapphire Rhodonite. In the more jokey "Almaz Ending," Mao's father deems him Overlord of the Netherworld, much to his own dismay.]]

*** [[spoiler: Celica]] turns out to be a Snow White, since [[spoiler: she's the missing Princess Anthiese of Zofia, barely saved from her family's massacre by her ParentalSubstitute Mycen. She lives as a priestess of the goddess Mila and then sets out on a quest to find out about the goddess' disappearance, which will lead her to reveal her heritage. In the end, she not only takes over Zofia but marries the Prince of Rigel, and they unite their lands in the newborn Kingdom of Valentia.]]
*** On the other hand, [[spoiler: Alm]] is revealed to be a Sleeping Beauty, [[spoiler: completely unaware that he is the missing Prince Albein Alm Rudolf of Rigel. He joins LaResistance to fight King Rudolf's tyranny, not knowing that Rudolf is his DisappearedDad, and is '''very''' distressed when he finds out the truth ''[[SelfMadeOrphan after fatally injuring him]]''. In the end, he recovers and takes over Rigel, marrying his childhood friend aka the aforementioned Celica and reigning over Valentia with her.]]
*** After the end, the newborn Mercenary Kingdom will have a King that fits as a Cinderella, as he began as a common mercenary who joined Celica's group. [[spoiler: Whether Jesse or Kamui becomes said King, it depends on whether Jesse lives to the end of the game.]]
*** ''Shadows of Valentia'' [[CanonForeigner adds another of these]]: [[spoiler: Celica's half-brother Prince Conrad, also a Snow White. He also survived the massacre of the Zofian Royal Family and was raised away in the Sage's Hamlet, becoming a powerful knight and then reuniting with Celica. If he lives, he becomes a ReasonableAuthorityFigure for Valentia.]]

*** [[spoiler: Cigyun and Deirdre]] are both Sleeping Beauties:\\
The first [[spoiler: was a young woman with [[HeroicLineage minor Loptous blood]], which was a ''very'' bad thing as her children would either become vessels for the Dark God Loptous or be the parents of a possible vessel. Cigyun escaped her home in a Verdane forest to see the world, married the Lord of Velthomer (from the also noble Fjalar clan) and had a son (Arvis) with major Fjalar blood ''and'' minor Loptous blood; however, she was mentally broken due to how much her husband cheated on her, so she cheated back on him with Prince Kurth, who belonged to ''another'' HeroicLineage (Naga). When the Velthomer lord found out and killed himself, the despaired Cigyun escaped back into to the Forest while pregnant with Deirdre, and died giving birth to her.]]\\
The second is a young girl living in a secluded forest, who was always told to not leave the tiny village, but didn't know ''why'' she should be in complete isolation. [[spoiler: As she is Cigyun's daughter, Deirdre has minor Loptous blood too ''and'' from her dad's side she is the long lost crown princess of Grandvale with major Naga heritage, but her caretakers refuse to tell her the truth. She leaves the Forest too and marries Sigurd, living happily with him (and having Seliph) until MagnificentBastard Manfroy kidnaps and brainwashes her... to become her half-brother Arvis's wife. And yep, their incestuous child Julius ''does'' become the vessel for Loptous, and kills Deirdre once possessed. Good thing Deirdre manages to spirit away her and Arvis's ''other'' incestuous child, Julia, and who ultimately joins her half-brother Seliph's rebellious group.]]
*** [[spoiler: Deirdre's eldest son]] Seliph and his friends (the kids of the first generation characters) belong to different categories, depending on their backstories. They're most commonly Snow Whites (Seliph, Leif, Oifey, Shannan, Lester and Lana, Ulster and Larcei, Patty, Ares, Arthur, maybe Altena, Fee and Ced, Diarmuid and Nanna), but we also have some Sleeping Beauties (Lene and Coirpre) and Goose Girls/Guys (Faval, Teeny). [[spoiler: Additionally, Lewyn is a subversion: he ''is'' the King of Silessa and should be on the throne, but he rejects his heritage (to the point that he gets pissed off when Seliph calls him "King") and prefers to be the TeamDad for Seliph's group so he can fight for the freedom of the empire. (Besides, if he DOES have kids with Forseti blood, the son will be crowned at the end of the game.)]] Oh, and [[spoiler: the aforementioned Deirdre's daughter/Seliph's half-sister Julia]] is a Snow White, [[spoiler: amnesiac and away from her noble family - thus unable to recall that she's the Imperial Princess of Grandvale and the current holder of the Naga major blood.]]

*** Leif, Nanna and Miranda are Snow Whites fighting to get their kingdoms back, to start. [[spoiler: Eyvel turns out to be an amnesiac Seeping Beauty since she's the long lost Princess Brigid; her adoptive daughter Mareeta and Mareeta's father Galzus are a Goose Guy and his Goose Girl daughter, thrown out of the small kingdom of Rivough when it was conquered years ago.]]
*** In both the second part of ''Genealogy of the Holy War'' and in ''Thracia 776'', the players learn that [[spoiler: Ced and Fee's mother Erinys ultimately became a Cinderella. Despite being only a Pegasus Knight in service to Silesse, Lewyn's mother Rahna trusted her enough to let her succeed the Silesse throne, even if she's not married to Lewyn, and so Erinys became the [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure very kind and hardworking]] Queen of Silesse from being a non-noble Pegasus Knight. The downside is that she died a few years before the events of the second half of ''Genealogy of the Holy War'' and ''Thracia 776'' took place, which left Silesse open to attacks and occupation.]]
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'', some of the girls that the young lord Roy can marry aren't exactly average noblewomen: the GenkiGirl dancer (and adoptive daughter [[spoiler: of an Etrurian general]], but still) Lalum, TomboyPrincess Sue from the nomadic Kutolah tribe (aka the daughter of ''Blazing Blade''[='s=] Rath), ActionGirl and mercenary Pegasus Knight Shanna, and the [[DarkIsNotEvil druid]] Sophia ([[spoiler:who's also a half-dragon]]).

*** Lyn's not the only potential Cindy, either: Lords Eliwood and Hector have brides who are either mercenary Pegasus Knights (Fiora, for Eliwood; Farina and Florina, for Hector) or a travelling dancer [[spoiler: who's also half-human and half dragon]] (Ninian, for Eliwood).
*** The same game has two Cinderellas: Louise and [[spoiler: Hellene]]. They're two childhood friends who are also members of very minor noble clans, who marry into much-higher families: Louise is HappilyMarried to Pent of Reglay, while [[spoiler: Hellene becomes the Queen of Bern via marrying King Desmond... and it gets worse for her]]. At the same time, we meet ''three'' Snow Whites: [[spoiler: Priscilla and Raymond of Cornwell, whose clan was overthrown due to their supposed corruption; and Rath from the Kutolah tribe, banished away from his tribe BecauseDestinySaysSo.]]

*** The game has a mixed Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty in [[spoiler: Micaiah, who goes from a cute FortuneTeller on the streets to a JeanneDArchetype-like leader of LaResistance to general to Queen of Daein... in the meantime learning that she is in fact the rightful heir to the empire of Begnion...which she does not end up ruling, and her little sister Empress Sanaki remains in power]].
*** It also both subverts and averts the Sleeping Beauty type with [[spoiler: Pelleas and Soren. Pelleas, a poor orphan who got the power of charming spirits, suddenly found himself the lost prince of Daein and became king - but it turned out to be a big fat lie, and he wasn't royal at all - and, in his case, being thought of as the Prince ''[[BreakTheCutie completely destroyed his life]]'' [[KillTheCutie and caused his death]]. (Unless the player gathers the requirements to recruit him into the group, that is - if he lives through he becomes an adviser to the aforementioned Queen Micaiah, switching from Sleeping Beauty to Cinderella.) Soren, the true prince, never learns of his heritage and remains a commoner -- but considering how things went with Pelleas (and [[ArchnemesisDad who his birth father was]]), it's probably ''much'' better he remained this way.]]

*** A very, ''very'' twisted Cinderella shows up as an antagonist: [[spoiler: Gangrel, who started as a poor dude from the slums and [[SelfMadeMan became the King of Plegia]]... as well as TheCaligula.]]
*** If a female Avatar marries Prince Chrom, she will become the future Queen of Ylisse and a Cinderella type. Or she can marry the nobleman Frederick and remain as Chrom's [[NumberTwo close friend and advisor]], or get together with Basilio aka one of the Khans of Regna Ferox, [[spoiler: or marry one of Chrom's potential sons (Brady or Inigo) or Lissa's son Owain.]], or marry Virion and [[spoiler: help him recover the Duchy of Rosanne]]. If a male Avatar marries Chrom's little sister Lissa [[spoiler: or his older sister Emmeryn if you recruit her via Spot Pass]], he will also be Cinderella'd into the Ylissean Royal Family; alternatively, he can marry Lissa's best friend Maribelle and be the husband of a future countess, or marry [[spoiler: any of Chrom's possible daughters (Kjelle, Cynthia, Lucina)]]... or marry the ''other'' Khan of Regna Ferox and Basilio's rival, Flavia, or marry close retainers and minor noblewomen like Cordelia, Sully and/or Sumia. [[spoiler: Since the Avatar's ArchnemesisDad Validar is the King of Plegia after Gangrel's fall, the Avatar of either gender is actually a Sleeping Beauty... and the "vessel" of Grima as well.]]
*** The female Avatar can also subvert it if she falls for either [[spoiler: the post HeelFaceTurn Gangrel and/or Walhart (neither is a ruler anymore), or Yen'fay (he's a Fallen Prince from an alternate timeline).]] Same goes to the male Avatar if his bride is [[spoiler: Say'ri (as Yen'fay's sister, she's a FallenPrincess - though she ''might'' have a chance to get Chon'sin back in the future.)]]

*** This can potentially happen to [[spoiler: Shura]]. Said character fits as a Cinderella, since [[spoiler: he used to be a vassal in service of the Principality of Kohga, which was destroyed by Kotaro from the Principality of Mokushu. But if he makes it to the end of the game, he rebuilds Kohga and becomes its leader (if he doesn't marry the Female Avatar and become her NumberTwo, that is).]]
*** Note, again, that there are quite a few royals that can be married off, including the Avatar this time, who's a member of the Hoshido royal family [[spoiler: and becomes ruler of Kingdom of Valla in the GoldenPath]], so anyone who marries said Avatar, their best friend Lady Azura, any of the royals from both the Nohr and Hoshido families, any of the other minor lords and rulers in those games, [[spoiler: Odin, aka [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Owain]]]], or their respective children, counts if they aren't already royal themselves.

** It's strongly implied that [[HelloInsertNameHere the main character]] in ''VideoGame/SuikodenIV'' may, in fact, be [[spoiler: Prince of the Kingdom of Obel]]. This isn't a straight example, though, because said main character comes into his own independently of royal lineage. (In fact, assuming the title would've been a ''drop'' in status by the time it comes up.) It does cast the fight with [[spoiler: King Lino]] in a [[FridgeBrilliance new light]], though, doesn't it?

** In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', [[spoiler: Hawke may become a viscount/ess if s/he sides with the Templars at the end.]] Ruling a whole city is a pretty big step from being a penniless refugee.

* ''VideoGame/LostOdyssey'' has Jansen as a Cinderella type where he was a commoner until the end of the game where [[spoiler: he marries Ming and became king of Numara.]]

* While not a princess per se, Agatha Heterodyne in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' is a Sleeping Beauty type, the long-lost daughter and only survivor [[spoiler: besides her mother, who happens to be the BigBad, sort of]] of the powerful Heterodyne family. Raised by {{Parental Substitute}}s and protected from her heritage as a [[MadScientist Spark]] by a locket her uncle made for her, she grows up having no idea she's heir to one of the most important families there is in a world run by {{Mad Scientist}}s.

And ''here'' is where it gets interesting. [[spoiler: It turns out years later that Chertsey's DNA matches Lindesfarne's...because Domain runs parallel to a universe where humans are the dominant species, and every animal in Domain has a counterpart in the human world, proven because if they cross over, they turn into their counterpart, DNA match and all. Lindesfarne, it turns out, originated from the human world and crossed over to Domain as a baby by accident, making her Chertsey's counterpart. So in short, ''both'' Lindesfarne and Chertsey are Sleeping Beauty types. Not that Lindesfarne ever intends to go back to the human world or stake her claim-she'd much rather be a scientist.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' [[spoiler: the commoner Twilight Sparkle creates new magic, which causes her to become an alicorn, and is coronated as a princess as a result of that, making her a Cinderella. ExpandedUniverse revealed that Cadence had done the same thing to become a princess.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' [[spoiler: It is revealed that Steven's mom Rose Quartz (who became a part of him) is actually Pink Diamond and on homeworld Diamonds are the monarchy making him a sleeping beauty while Rose Quartz herself was a Snow White since she faked her own shattering and hid away as a Rose Quartz.]]

* ''VideoGame/PrincessMaker2'': Olive is a Cinderella-Type, starting the game as the adopted daughter of the kingdom's hero but otherwise unremarkable, but by the end of the game, she may become a princess, royal concubine, queen consort or even the ruling queen, if the player fulfills the right requirements.

* Sergeant Nimashet Despreaux in Creator/JohnRingo and Creator/DavidWeber's ''Literature/PrinceRoger'' series subverts the trope by recognizing that it is not a good idea for [[BodyguardCrush a bodyguard to be attracted to the person she's guarding]]. Also, since she is from a hick planet, she doesn't want to get anywhere near the DeadlyDecadentCourt that plagues the Empire of Man. She actually has to be ORDERED by her CO to have a relationship with the prince because they need to get him out of a depressed funk. Later on, when he becomes heir to the throne, she gets cold feet. She then has to be ORDERED by her CO to marry him so that she can serve as his moderating influence and conscience.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', Prince Zuko and his uncle General Iroh spend the second season as outright fugitive Snow Whites. Iroh [[DefectorFromDecadence seems to prefer this]] to the RoyallyScrewedUp [[TheEmpire Fire Nation]] [[DeadlyDecadentCourt court]], while Zuko... has a harder time coping for [[WellDoneSonGuy various reasons]]. [[spoiler:Zuko not only gets his royal life back, but he gets the throne too.]]

* The entire Band of the Hawk from ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'' are Cinderellas, as they're all common mercenaries elevated to knighthood. Griffith, however, is the biggest example. At his highest point he had a good chance of marrying Princess Charlotte and becoming heir to the kingdom. This is portrayed fairly realistically, though, as Griffith does have to deal with a couple of assassination attempts by disgruntled nobles. Its subverted when Griffith goes through a HeroicBSOD, gets captured and tortured by the King, and the Band of the Hawk become outlaws.

* [[spoiler:Asuna]] and [[spoiler:Negi]] of ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' are both Sleeping Beauty types, turning out to both be members of the royal family of the Vespertatia Kingdom in the MagicWorld. It subverts the GenreBlind guardian bit, as they were probably both safer '''before''' they started getting involved with their legacies.

* ''Manga/KatekyoHitmanReborn'' uses this trope in the form of a "Rapunzel Style". Sawada Tsunayoshi is a normal high-schooler until the hitman tutor shows up at his doorstep and tells him he's a candidate for the tenth generation boss of a mafia. Hilarity ensues.

* Justified in ''{{ComicBook/Fables}}''. [[BornLucky Briar Rose]] can ''never'' stay poor thanks to a blessing placed on her at birth so when she loses her entire fortune fleeing the Adversary she quickly recoups it with a few smart business deals. One character notes that if she were to give away her fortune on a whim: "she'd probably win the lottery the next day".

** Variants which follow Literature/SnowWhite, such as "Literature/{{Catskin}}", "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/cinderella/stories/katie.html Katie Woodencloak]]", "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/cinderella/stories/rashin.html Rashin-Coatie]]", "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/donkeyskin/stories/bear.html The Bear]]", [[Creator/TheBrothersGrimm Grimms']] "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/donkeyskin/stories/allfur.html All-Kinds-Of-Fur]]", "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/donkeyskin/stories/kingdaughter.html The King Who Wished Marry To His Daughter]]", and "Literature/CapORushes".

* ''FanFic/TangledInTime'' has Fyrus, a male Gerudo born to humble barkeepers. He is a combined Cinderella/Sleeping Beauty example, as Fyrus's mother was not royalty and he didn't realize that being a male Gerudo was a big deal. He became king when he and his family flee Ganondorf's takeover of Hyrule and to stay with his mother's family in the Gerudo desert.