Princesses behaving badly : real stories from history-- without the fairy-tale endings / by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 287-297) and index.

Warriors : princesses who fought their own battles. Alfhild, the princess who turned pirate ; Pingyang, the princess who led an army ; Olga of Kiev, the princess who slaughtered her way to sainthood ; Khutulun, the princess who ruled the wrestling mat ; Lakshmibai, the princess who led a rebellion (with her son strapped to her back) -- Usurpers : princesses who grabbed power in a man's world. Hatshepsut, the princess who ruled Egypt as a king ; Wu Zetian, the princess who became emperor of China ; Njinga of Ndongo, the princess who kept male concubines in drag -- Schemers : princesses who plotted and planned. Justa Grata Honoria, the princess who nearly wrecked the Roman empire ; Isabella of France, the "she-wolf" princess ; Roxolana, the princess who went from sex slave to sultana ; Catherine Radziwill, the stalker princess ; Stephanie von Hohenlohe, the princess who partied for Hitler -- Survivors : princesses who made controversial and questionable choices. Lucrezia, the Renaissance mafia princess ; Malinche, the princess who served her country's conquerors ; Sophia Dorothea, the prisoner princess ; Sarah Winnemucca, the princess accused of collaborating ; Sofka Dolgorouky, the princess who turned Communist -- Partiers : princesses who loved to live it up. Christina, the cross-dressing princess ; Caraboo, the phony princess who hoodwinked England ; Charlotte of Prussia, the princess who threw a sex party ; Clara Ward, the princess who ran off with a gypsy...and a waiter...and a station manager ; Gloria von Thurn und Taxis, the punk princess who went corporate -- Floozies : princesses notorious for their sexy exploits. Caroline of Brunswick- Wolfenbuttel, the princess who didn't wash ; Pauline Bonaparte, the exhibitionist princess ; Margaret, the princess who caused a bank robbery -- Madwomen : princesses who were likely mad, or close to it. Anna of Saxony, the princess who foamed at the mouth ; Elisabeth of Austria, the princess who wore a meat mask ; Charlotte of Belgium, the princess who scared the Pope ; Franziska, the amnesiac who became the lost Romanov princess.

Offers information on historical princesses whose lives were devoid of fairy-tale magic, including the stories of Nazi spy Princess Stephanie von Hohenlohe, mass murderess Princess Olga of Kiev, and warrior mom Princess Rani Lakshmibai.