PRINCESS REAL LIFE
Grace Glennon, 21, from Salford, always knew that a tiara belonged on her head…
Lifting the brunette wig over my blonde hair, the look started coming together.
Complete with ayellow princess gown, sparkles covering my eyelids and pink, blushing cheeks, I knew Iembodied the magic of aprincess.
And I certainly felt like one, too.
Staring in the mirror, Iwas in awe at who was gazing back at me.
Iwas the spitting image of Belle, one of my favourite Disney princesses from the film Beauty and the Beast, who I’d looked up to since Iwas little. I look just like her, I thought.
‘Who is this brunette in my house?’ my boyfriend Tom, 24, exclaimed.
Giggling at his shocked expression, I looked like a completely different person to my usual self, who usually wore jeans, hoodies and had long, blonde hair.
Ever since starting my job as areal-life princess at Manchester Princess Parties in January 2023, Tom still hadn’t gotten used to my magical transformations. But for me, it felt so natural. After all, I’d been ahuge Disney Princess fan since childhood, dressing up in replicas of the ball gowns and singing along to their iconic songs, too.
Collecting everything Disney Princess themed, from sparkly heeled shoes to handbags, dolls and all the DVDs, Iwas Disney mad.
And it’s alove that stuck with me long into my adulthood, too.
Heading to acting and dance classes when I was little and then studying performance at the University of Salford, my love for singing along to Disney Princess songs was always aconstant.
And whenever Ihad abad day at uni, I’d come home to my flat and stick on aDisney Princess film.
The underwater adventures of Ariel in The Little Mermaid were the perfect escape for me –after all, Ariel was my favourite princess.
Working my part-time job at Build-A-Bear alongside my studies, Ihelped spread that similar, magical feeling by encouraging the children to kiss the bear’s heart before it was stuffed.
Only, one day, a parent surprised me.
‘You’d be afantastic party princess,’ she said.
Blushing, Iwas absolutely flattered.
I’d seen other people transform into Disney princesses for children’s parties on TikTok.
Why haven’t I considered that before? I suddenly thought.
The minute my shift finished, Irushed home and took to Google, looking for a party princess job.
Instantly, Manchester Princess Parties appeared.
And reading through the website, I gasped.
In the photos, the entertainers looked exactly like the Disney princesses I’d grown up with – from Aurora to Belle, Ariel and even Elsa.
That’s what Iwant
