Princess

For Peggy Orenstein, the pink thing reached its ridiculous apex during a dental exam, where the dentist asked Orenstein’s daughter, Daisy, to “sit in my special princess throne so I can sparkle your teeth.’’ When, Orenstein asks, “did every little girl become a princess?’’ It’s a question lots of other mothers are asking these days. Especially for those of us who grew up during the flourishing of second-wave feminism, today’s balkanized gender landscape is often baffling and even horrifying.

An elderly home opened by Britain's Princess Diana in a Zimbabwe township during her African charity crusades has run out of money nearly two decades after its opening, workers at the home said Thursday. The Society for the Aged Destitute has had to reduce the number of elderly given shelter with only a few months of funding left, administrator Louise Allaart said. She said the home has space for 50 people but can only care for 24. After years of economic meltdown in this southern African country, those turned away from the home resort to the surrounding litter-strewn streets where...

LONDON — An Egyptian princess who lived more than 3,500 years ago is the earliest known person to have had clogged arteries, dispelling the myth that heart disease is a product of modern society, a new study says. To determine how common heart disease was in ancient Egypt, scientists performed computer scans on 52 mummies in Cairo and the United States. Among those that still had heart tissue, 44 had chunks of calcium stuck to their arteries, indicating clogging. “Atherosclerosis clearly existed more than 3,000 years ago,’’ said Adel Allam, a cardiology professor at Al Azhar University...

ANKARA, Turkey - Neslisah Osmanoglu, an Ottoman princess who married an Egyptian prince and was forced into exile twice when each royal household was abolished, has died at 91. Neslisah Sultan, or Princess Neslisah, died in Istanbul Monday, said her nephew, Abdulhamid Kayihan Osmanoglu. He did not give the cause of death, but news reports said it was a heart attack. A funeral ceremony was being held Tuesday for the princess, who was the oldest member of the Ottoman dynasty. Princess Neslisah was born in Istanbul on Feb. 4, 1921, two years before the Turkish Republic replaced the...

Ahead of its closing at the end of the year, Priscilla of Boston is hosting a liquidation sale at its Charlestown warehouse on Saturday from 9a.m. to 4 p.m. Gowns will be 75-90 percent off original prices and will start at $99. Brands will include Priscilla of Boston, Platinum for Priscilla of Boston, Jewel by Priscilla of Boston, Melissa Sweet, and Vineyard Collection. We're guessing lines will form early. The warehouse is at 40 Cambridge St., Charlestown. Find more sale details at www.priscillaofboston.com . -- Ami Albernaz

CHICAGO - All the pink, frilly, and sparkly - from the princess dresses to the 4-foot-high pink castle in the playroom - isn't necessarily what Caroline Morris would choose for her eldest daughter. She doesn't want to stop her 6-year-old from being who she is. But as princess fever has reached a new high with this generation of girls, she and other parents are feeling the urge to rein in the would-be reigning ones, just a little. That's especially true in tough economic times, when more parents are focusing on messages of frugality and humility that,...

A little respect, please. "John Carter" only appears to be a $250 million space turkey named after a chartered accountant. It only seems like the pureed hash of "Star Wars," "Avatar," and every other interplanetary rocket rodeo since the genre was invented. Actually, the movie's based on the book that invented the genre. Edgar Rice Burroughs debuted "A Princess of Mars" in the pages of the pulp-fiction magazine the All-Story almost exactly a century ago, following it up with no less than 10 novels in the "Barsoom" series (Barsoom being his Martians'...

A 25-year-old New Haven man has been jailed after being found competent to face animal cruelty charges in the stabbing of his bulldog. Alexander Bernard had been free and under electronic monitoring following his arrest on May 25. But the New Haven Register reports he was imprisoned Thursday after a court appearance in lieu of $10,000 bond. Police say Bernard told them he stabbed the 8-month old bulldog named Princess 29 times with a folding knife because people were bothering him about the dog and he had family problems.

The New England Conservatory’s production of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute’’ demonstrates how far conceptual flair can carry an opera: not far enough. It looked good; and, with some fine singing and polished sounds from the orchestra (conducted by John Greer), it also sounded good. But the dramatic whole was frustratingly inert. Director Greg Smucker threw the story into a video-game, science-fiction setting. Jon Savage’s circuit-board sets and John Cuff’s nifty light effects channeled “Tron’’; Seth Bodie’s costumes ranged from a flamboyantly cyberpunk Queen of the Night to...

SOMERVILLE -- "Sleeping or dreaming, the dreamer must accept his dreams. " So says Death, in the guise of a beautiful black-haired princess, to Orpheus, a French poet, in Jean Cocteau's film "Orpheus. " It could stand just as well for the spirit in which the film should be watched. Cocteau's witty and casually surreal fable hangs only loosely on the Orpheus myth, which seemed to interest him less for its plot or moral than for the portals it opened between the worlds of the living and the dead.

A little respect, please. "John Carter" only appears to be a $250 million space turkey named after a chartered accountant. It only seems like the pureed hash of "Star Wars," "Avatar," and every other interplanetary rocket rodeo since the genre was invented. Actually, the movie's based on the book that invented the genre. Edgar Rice Burroughs debuted "A Princess of Mars" in the pages of the pulp-fiction magazine the All-Story almost exactly a century ago, following it up with no less than 10 novels in the "Barsoom" series (Barsoom being his Martians' name for their home planet)

The Swedish Royal Court has released the first close-up pictures of the Nordic country's newborn princess and future monarch. The royal court posted the pictures of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel's daughter Estelle Silvia Ewa Mary on its website Monday. The photos show the sleeping princess wearing a white cardigan and were taken when she was four days old at the royal couple's residency at Haga Palace. The princess was born in Stockholm on Thursday. As Victoria's first-born child, she is second in line to the Swedish throne.

The latest Disney on Ice theme, "Dare to Dream," focuses on the girls - sorry, make that princesses. A trio of fables, one old-school ("Cinderella") and two reimagined by Disney with feisty, independent heroines ("The Princess and the Frog" and "Tangled") are brought to life through elegant and athletic skating routines. This time around, the music drives the storytelling, which is not a bad thing, given the impressive range of choreography that allows this incredibly talented troupe of nearly 40 skaters to showcase their skills.

Denmark's royal palace says French-born Princess Marie has given birth to her second child, a girl. The palace says the 35-year-old princess and her daughter are doing fine. The father, Prince Joachim, was present during the birth Tuesday. The baby weighed 6.45 pounds (2.930 kilograms) and measures 19.6 inches (49 centimeters). Joachim and Marie married in May 2008. The newborn is the couple's second child and is 10th in line to Denmark's throne. The 42-year-old prince already has two sons from his previous marriage with Hong Kong-born Alexandra Manley.

Princess Diana's iconic wedding dress will soon be leaving Connecticut, where it has been part of an exhibition making its only stop in the Northeast. The elaborate gown from Diana's 1981 nuptials and its 25-foot train will remain on display through Jan. 15 at Foxwoods Resort Casino, where it was first unveiled Sept. 16. The exhibition also includes more than 150 personal items including many of Diana's designer dresses, family heirlooms, rare home movies and pieces of jewelry.

The newest princess from The Walt Disney Co. is more interested in shooting arrows and hunting bears than attending balls and finding Prince Charming. Merida, the spunky curly-haired Scottish heroine from the upcoming Pixar Animation Studios adventure "Brave," is breaking new ground as the archery-loving protagonist of the Oscar-winning studio's first fairytale. "She's your anti-princess," said "Brave" co-director Mark Andrews. "She isn't your typical princess. She doesn't wear nice clothes except in a couple of scenes when her strict mom, Queen Elinor, makes her do it for...

KIDS CIRCUS SMIRKUS "Frontpage Follies: Big Top Big News" features juggling paperboys and paparazzi clowns. The cast of 29, ages 10-18, includes Acton's Olivia Saunders. July 28 at 1 and 6 p.m. ( through July 31 in Waltham; check website for additional venues and prices). $25, $19 ages 2-12. Gore Place, 52 Gore St., Waltham. 877-764-7587. www.smirkus.org ARTS FESTIVAL More than 30 Greater Boston communities are represented at this daylong festival presented by Creative Arts at Park.

The mortuary temple of Queen Nefertari is the largest and most awe-inspiring in Egypt's Valley of the Queens. On one wall her husband, the great pharaoh Ramesses II, wrote, "My love is unique and none can rival her. . . . Just by passing, she has stolen away my heart. " Around this real-life tribute, author Michelle Moran convincingly weaves an epic love story, a gorgeously detailed history lesson, and a gripping tale of political intrigue in her sophomore novel, "The Heretic Queen.

Thailand's ailing king — the world's longest-reigning monarch — recently suffered a health problem that caused him to temporarily lose consciousness, his daughter revealed, linking the incident to stress over the country's flood crisis. News that the health of 83-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej took what Princess Chulabhorn described as a brief turn for the worse comes as floods have inundated much of Thailand, including parts of Bangkok and its suburbs. More than 500 people have died, damage is estimated at several billion dollars and central Bangkok remains threatened.

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is apologizing for calling the House minority leader "Princess Nancy. " During a debate Wednesday night, Cain said Nancy Pelosi blocked any effort when she was speaker of the House to repeal Democrats' health care overhaul, legislation she helped marshal through. Republicans have since captured control of the House during 2010s midterm elections. After the debate, he told CNBC he "probably should not have made" that comment. Cain is facing allegations of unwanted sexual advances and his mocking of the first...