LOL.. yes, my daughter (age 9) and I just went through this.
Officially (in terms of Disney marketing) there are 13 official Princesses (Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Arial, Mulan, Merida, Pocahontas, Tiana, Moana, Belle, Jasmine, and Raya.
Elsa and Anna were considered, however they are successful enough on their own so as not needing to be packaged with the others. Unofficially they often appear with the other 13 (i.e Ralph Breaks the Internet).
Unofficially is where it gets a bit fuzzy. To be considered a Disney Princess, they must be "a protagonist or main supporting character in an animated theatrical film produced by a studio owned by The Walt Disney Company that is the first film in its franchise (thus excluding characters introduced in sequels, direct-to-video films and television series), must be human in her standard form and in general should be a princess by way of either marriage to a prince or through herself descending from a monarch or tribal chief. Exceptionally heroic characters who do not have a royal title can also be included."
So by that definition, you would also need to consider:
- Giselle from Enchanted.
- Which means you would also need to consider Nancy Tremaine who actually does marry Prince Edward (making it two ‘almost Disney Princesses’ played by Idina Menzel).
- Vanellope von Schweetz from Wreck it Ralph who interacts with all the Disney Princesses + Elsa and Anna.
- Prior to that scene, Vanellope is pursued by Imperial Stormtroopers. Star Wars is owned by Disney, which implies Princess Leia could qualify, except she’s not an animated character.
- There are a number of Disney shows featuring princesses such as Sofia the First and Elena of Avalor (Disney’s first Latina Princess) and they interact with cameo appearances by Official Princesses and their underminions.
And then you have a bunch of heroic female protagonists like Tinkerbell, Jane Porter / Lady Greystoke, Princess Tiger Lilly, Alice, Wendy, Esmerelda, etc who were considered at various points but didn’t qualify for one reason or another (not a princess, not a main character, not enough marketing juice, etc).
It’s a lot of princesses to keep up with.
)