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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tasha_tudor_real_princess.jpg]]

"The Princess and the Pea" (Danish: "Prindsessen paa ærten"; "Prinsessen på ærten" in modern orthography) is a FairyTale by Danish poet and author Creator/HansChristianAndersen about a young woman whose claim to being a real princess is tested by placing a pea under her mattresses. The tale likely had its source in folk material although the original source of the story is a bit obscure. The story was first published in 1835. It has been adapted to various media including [[Theatre/OnceUponAMattress musical comedy]], an [[WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndThePea animated feature film]] and television drama.

A prince at the age of marriage travels about the world searching for a real princess but returns home disappointed. One evening, a young woman claiming to be a princess seeks shelter from a storm in the prince's castle. The prince's mother decides to test her claim by placing one ([[RuleOfThree or three]]) peas on her bedstead, underneath twenty mattresses and twenty feather beds. The following morning their young guest tells her hosts she simply could not sleep because there was a terrible lump in her bed. The prince rejoices, for only a real princess would be so sensitive. They marry and live happily ever after.

You can read this [[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1597/1597-h/1597-h.htm here.]]
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!! "The Princess and the Pea" has examples of:
* AdaptationalVillainy: The Russian film has a BaitAndSwitch. At first, the Queen is sympathetic towards the princess and the King is the one suspicious of the girl. Then a throwaway line implies the Queen was the princess from the original fairy tale and that her mother-in-law really was an EvilMatriarch.
* HappilyEverAfter: Once the beautiful young woman is revealed to be a princess, she and her prince get married.
* HonoraryPrincess: Maybe: it remains unknown if the heroine is an actual princess [[FallenPrincess on the run]], and the pea under the mattresses reveals [[SecretTest her as such]]. Or, if she thinks of herself worthy of being a princess when asked if she is one, and by coincidence has the sensitive skin of a royal girl. Regardless, even if she supposedly wasn't a princess she still would've become one at the end.
* TheMusical: ''Theatre/OnceUponAMattress'', an AffectionateParody.
* RoyalBlood: Suggested to be why the princess passes the mattress test.
* SecretTest: The pea under the mattress to determine whether the young lady really is as tender-skinned as a princess would be.
* WomenAreDelicate: Or at least the real princess should be, as that's the entire point of the title.
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