The word prince refers to a title that comes from the Latin word “princeps”. A prince is a man who is descended from a princely or royal family and who gets this title as soon as he comes to the world. Nowadays, when we talk of prince, we mean the one who is the chief of a state but has, most of the time, a reduced influence.

In movies, novels, comics or cartoons, princes are often heroes who are to defend the widow or the orphan. For many young ladies, the Prince is the perfect young man who is to save them from despair or loneliness. The prince charming is then often used to name the one who is gonna save the poor gentle and beautiful girl. For instance, Cinderella or The Sleeping Beauty among many other fairy tales feature a courtly hero who will stop at nothing to please and/or save the young woman and get her out of her cruel torturers.

One can also become a prince by marrying the princess. The wonderful trilogy Shrek features a monster that saves a princess from the dungeon where she was kept prisoner, so the princess believe he is her prince charming. When she realizes he's no more than an ogre, she is horrified and disappointed, yet she still believes he's the one she should marry for he saved her life! How romantic!