Rapunzel officially crowned 10th Disney Princess

What a magical afternoon in London! Rapunzel was officially welcomed into the Disney Princess Court when she was crowned earlier today at Kensington Palace. Rapunzel’s Royal Celebration brought together all the Disney princesses, little princesses from around the world, and a few surprise celebrity guests.

Many people showed up for the free procession through Hyde Park.

I started the day off with a long ride on the tube, and as I got closer to the station, I could already tell that this was a popular event. I saw many families with little girls dressed as their favorite princesses, or wearing a Disney princess backpack or some other identifier. It felt like I was on a bus to Disney World! As I reached Hyde Park, I was blown away at how many people had turned up! There was a procession of all the princesses throughout the park that was free for the public to attend.

After the princesses processed through the park, they dismounted their carriages in front of Kensington Palace (at this point, you had to have an invitation to see the rest of the event.) Each princess was announced by name, but it was sometimes hard to hear because of how many little girls were screaming “Ariel! Ariel!” or “BELLE!!!” Ten lucky girls from around the world were picked to be paired with one of the princesses, and they got to present them with flowers and give them a hug, and be part of a group photo in front of the palace.

I started trying to do pictures and video, but I decided to focus on just video after Snow White came through. It was hard enough getting video of Maximus, who did make an appearance, than to juggle two cameras to also get pictures! Full video of the procession below the jump.

Each princess was paired with a "little princess" from around the world.

At this point, guests were invited into the palace to witness Rapunzel being crowned. The crowd was greeted by the Fairy Godmother who gave all the little princes and princesses in attendance a proper lesson on how to wave to a princess, and how to curtsey (or bow.)

Next, Shannon Saunders sang as each Disney princess entered the room. After Rapunzel entered, the crowd was delighted to see Flynn Rider coming from the back, who had previously been missing from the festivities. He came to the front and placed a crown on Rapunzel’s head, officially making her the 10th princess in the Disney Princess Court. (Full video of the ceremony below the jump.)

I found Pascal!

Outside of the celebration, there was a lot of fun activities for guests and their children to participate in. There was an area for decorating a lantern, which you could hang from the lantern tree. There was an area for storytelling, a display of Tangled merchandise, the chance to watch someone drawing the Disney princesses, and even a place where little princesses could get their hair done and their faces painted to look like Rapunzel. My favorite things were the finger food (it was delicious!) and the gardens. Disney had actually hidden little Pascal figurines in several colors throughout the gardens for children to collect.

Overall, it was a beautiful celebration. In true Disney fashion, everyone in attendance felt like they were part of the magic. Between all the activities for children, the grand entrance of each princess on a horse drawn carriage, and the ceremony itself, I had a wonderful time. See below the jump for even more pictures, and full video of the procession and the ceremony. (Disney is releasing their official pictures this week, but I wanted to get mine up as soon as possible. I’ll do another post with some higher quality, professional shots.)

The display of Tangled merchandise, including the Disney Fairytale Wedding dress inspired by the movie (designed by Alfred Angelo)

Nicole Richie and her family were in attendance

A Disney animator drawing Ariel

Little Princesses getting their hair and makeup done

Children were invited to decorate lanterns and hang them from this tree.

Snow White leads the procession through the Kensington Palace gardens

All 10 Disney Princesses

Each princess was paired with a "Little Princess" for the day. The lucky girl picked to be with Ariel being interviewed about the experience.

Mulan, Ariel, and Rapunzel

Rapunzel after being officially crowned the 10th Disney Princess

Video of the procession – note, the first two minutes are just Snow White, as they were waiting for the rest.

Video of the ceremony (sorry if my hand was too tired to hold the camera still, but I was holding it up very high to try to get a good angle. I was also trying to take pictures with my other hand, so it was quite the balancing act.)