For centuries, being a royal woman meant projecting absolute, untouchable physical perfection. From heavy corsetry to strategic makeup and total secrecy surrounding personal health, physical vulnerability was hidden behind the fortress of the Crown.
Queen Elizabeth I, for example, is believed to have used white makeup, Venetian ceruse, to cover up smallpox scars. Centuries later, behind closed doors, Princess Diana dealt with bulimia, describing it as a "secret disease" during her 1995 Panorama interview. Then there was Sarah Ferguson, who wrote in her 1996 autobiography that she caught plantar warts after wearing Diana's shoes - a moment of raw human reality that breached the unwritten rules of royal image control that was so out of the norm that it ultimately led to the former sisters-in-law falling out.
Today, however, a revolution is taking place on the balcony. Younger royal women are dismantling centuries of body-image pressure. Two Princesses in particular are challenging the picture-perfect image of royalty: Princess Eugenie and the Netherlands' Princess Catharina-Amalia.
As John Steinbeck wrote: "To be alive at all is to have scars." Some are emotional, others physical. For Eugenie and Amalia, theirs are visible... and they aren't afraid to show them. I think many of us have been there, wanting to hide a blemish or something we might not like. And in a world of Photoshop and Facetune, where faces can be smoothed and edits can be made with the touch of a finger, it's refreshing to see two Princesses who aren't trying to erase parts of themselves.
Princess Catharina-Amalia
© Patrick van Katwijk/Getty ImagesAmalia recently had scar on display at the FEI World Championships in Aachen. Dressed in a sleeveless Nina Blanc dress, the heir to the Dutch throne revealed the scar on her upper left arm for the first time since her riding accident.
In June 2025, the Princess of Orange broke her arm after falling from her horse and underwent surgery. The Princess was discharged from the hospital two days later and was seen sporting a sling during a public appearance just over a week later.
Despite her injury, the Princess, who enjoys horse riding in her free time, admitted during the royal family's photo call that summer that she was "truly counting down the days until I could get back in the saddle," according to RTL.
Speaking to author Claudia de Breij, Amalia once said: "I am most who I am on a horse. If you really want to get to know me, you have to see me ride."
Princess Eugenie
© Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImagePrincess Eugenie has lived with her scar for more than two decades. At the age of 12, Queen Elizabeth's granddaughter was diagnosed with scoliosis and underwent corrective surgery. During the eight-hour operation, which left a scar, the Princess had eight-inch titanium rods inserted into each side of her spine and one-and-a-half inch screws at the top of her neck.
The royal has previously credited her mother, Sarah Ferguson, with changing her outlook on her scar. "She was amazing. She'd ask me if she could show it to people, then she'd turn me around and say, 'My daughter is superhuman, you've got to check out her scar'. All of sudden it was a badge of honour – a cool thing I had," Eugenie told The Telegraph in 2025.
"It trained my brain that it's ok, scars are cool. It became a positive memory, a part of me, that I could do something with in the future. I could help heal other people."
The Princess highlighted her scar on her wedding day in 2018, choosing a low-back dress so she could show it off. The bride walked down the aisle of St. George's Chapel in a gown designed by Peter Pilotto and Christopher de Vos, with her hair swept into an updo that left her scar fully visible.
"I had always wanted a low back, part of it was showing my scar. I believe scars tell a story about your past and your future and it's a way of getting rid of a taboo," Eugenie has said. "For me it's a way of communicating with people who are going through either similar situations with scoliosis or having a scar of their own they are trying to deal with."
Eugenie has also encouraged others to embrace and share their scar. In a post marking International Scoliosis Awareness Day in 2020, the Princess penned: "Today is International Scoliosis Awareness Day. I just wanted to share my scar and encourage anyone out there who's gone through something similar to share theirs with me. Let's be proud of our scars! I'd love to repost any of your images on my stories so please tag me and I will share."
The end of 'flawless monarchy'
It's that encouragement of others that makes Eugenie such an inspiring role model, while Amalia is showing by example that there's no need to hide. And maybe that's where modern princesses differ from royal women of the past: they feel less pressure to conceal what might once have been kept out of sight. This shift goes far beyond personal confidence - it represents a fundamental change in how monarchies survive in the 21st century. In a world exhausted by artificial ideals, the modern Crown’s greatest asset is vulnerability, warmth and realness.
Where previous generations maintained a stoic wall of silence, today's royals are actively choosing transparency over untouchable perfection. We see it when Queen Camilla speaks openly about the King’s cancer diagnosis and treatment, shrugging off centuries of guarded medical secrecy. We see it in Prince William sharing candid details of his personal life, and in William and Kate’s noticeably warmer, more affectionate public displays - a dismantling of the rigid protocol that once dictated royal duty.
