“The Real Princess,” also known as “The Princess and the Pea,” is a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a prince seeking a true princess to marry. The prince travels the world, but cannot find a princess he feels is truly authentic. One stormy night, a bedraggled young woman claiming to be a real princess arrives at the castle gate. The Queen tests her claim by placing a single pea beneath twenty mattresses and twenty featherbeds. The princess’ sensitivity, evident when she complains about a terrible night’s sleep due to feeling the pea through all the bedding, convinces the royal family she is a true princess, and the prince marries her.
GenreChildren's Literature, Fairy Tales and Folklore
Length3 mins
Narrated byBert Stauff
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateSep 23, 2025
LanguageEnglish
About the author
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875) was born in Odense, Denmark, the son of a poor shoemaker and a washerwoman. As a young teenager, he became quite well known in Odense as a reciter of drama and as a singer. When he was fourteen, he set off for the capital, Copenhagen, determined to become a national success on the stage. He failed miserably, but made some influential friends in the capital who got him into school to remedy his lack of proper education. In 1829 his first book was published. After that, books came out at regular intervals. His stories began to be translated into English as early as 1846. Since then, numerous editions, and more recently Hollywood songs and Disney cartoons, have helped to ensure the continuing popularity of the stories in the English-speaking world.View all by Hans Christian Andersen
