The Princess and the Pea: the story, its meaning and its characters

The story in short

A prince searches the world for a real princess. One stormy night a soaked girl knocks at the castle gate, and a single pea hidden under twenty mattresses shows whether she truly is a princess.

Twenty mattresses, twenty eiderdowns and one tiny pea.

Hans Christian Andersen first published "Prindsessen paa Ærten" on 8 May 1835, in "Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. Første Samling. Første Hefte".

Our film opens with Andersen in his library, taking the book from his shelf before the story begins.

How the story unfolds in our film

The Prince's Search. A young prince travels across kingdoms seeking a true princess to marry, but each candidate he meets proves false in some way—too loud, too coarse, too practiced—and he returns home dejected, his search seemingly hopeless.

The Storm-Night Arrival. On a wild autumn evening of lashing rain and thunder, a drenched young woman knocks at the palace gate claiming to be a princess; the queen devises a secret test while offering hospitality.

The Test of the Pea. The queen places a single dried pea beneath twenty feather mattresses and twenty eiderdown quilts; the traveler is given the towering bed for the night, while the royal family waits to see what morning will reveal.

The Truth Revealed. At breakfast, the traveler confesses she barely slept, bruised and aching from something hard beneath all the bedding; the prince rejoices, for only a true princess could possess such delicate sensitivity—and they are married in spring.

What the story is about

Our film of The Princess and the Pea is built around four ideas:

• Authenticity versus pretense
• Sensitivity as a mark of nobility
• True identity revealed through trials
• Perseverance in seeking truth

Who you meet in our film

Seven characters appear in our film of The Princess and the Pea:

• The Loud Princess of the Lowlands
• The Old King
• The Prince
• The Princess
• The Proud Princess of the North
• The Queen
• The Vain Princess of the South

Where our film takes place

The film is set in fourteen places:

• Distant Kingdoms
• Palace Gate and Courtyard
• The Breakfast Room
• The Palace Entrance Hall
• The Grand Guest Chamber
• The Lowland Castle
• The Open Sea
• The Palace Chapel
• The Palace Corridor at Night
• The Palace Hall
• The Royal Cabinet of Curiosities
• The Royal Sitting Room
• The Snow Castle of the North
• The Palace Garden of the South

Watching it with children

Suitable from about 3 years.

The first chapter is free and lasts about 2 minutes; the whole film runs about 4 minutes.

The film is illustrated and narrated with AI, adapted from Andersen’s original Danish text.

More from Andersen’s World

Where to go next:

• Watch The Princess and the Pea
• Hans Christian Andersen and his fairy tales
• The Ugly Duckling: story, meaning and characters