Our only hope?

Brave.
Smart.
Beautiful. On the inside and out
An affinity for woodland creatures.
Royal, but of the people.
Not so much of a damsel in distress.
At least one dead or missing parent.
Resourceful.

These are all qualities that are embodied by the members of the sorority known as the Disney Princesses. But I contend that there is a princess out there who fits the bill but for some reason has not been welcomed into that sisterhood. That doe eyed princess is none other than the crown princess of Alderaan Leia Organa.

Cool hair doesn't hurt

Brave - As a member of the Imperial Senate she was also secretly a member of the rebel alliance.

Smart - Seeing that her ship was being captured, she sent the plans for the death star away with a small astromech droid.

Beautiful - So beautiful that the two heroes of the story were angling for her attention. Not to mention, every space pirate and gangster she encountered

An affinity for woodland creatures - Everyone else the ewoks encountered were part of the meal, she was their guest.

Royal, but of the people - Never acted like a princess. She was a part of the rebellion (and then the resistance). And was never afraid to pick up a blaster and get things done herself.

The anti-damsel in distress - She had to do the rescuing when Luke and Han tried to rescue her from the Death Star.

At least one dead or missing parent - Her adopted parents died on Alderaan, her birthmother died right after she was born. And then there is her dad.

Other than not being animated or originally created by Disney (which most of the official princesses were not). I don't see a reason to not include Princess Leia.

Since the acquisition of the Star Wars franchise by Disney in 2012, fans have clamored for Leia to become a Disney Princess or at the very least for Leia merchandise to be available. Some may argue that Star Wars (like Frozen) stands alone and that Leia (and Anna and Elsa) don't need to be lumped in with the others. I think it has more to do with Disney thinking Star Wars is just a "Boy" property. And they continue this with The Force Awakens, despite a female protagonist. Go over to Target and count the number of Rey, Leia, or Captain Phasma toys in comparison to Finn, Poe Dameran, Stormtrooper and assorted characters who were in a scene or two. Even today they don't think boys want to play with female action figures. But what about girls who want to play with an action figure of a strong awesome female character.

The strike against Leia is she is old now. In the latest movie General Leia is not the young princess with a funny hairdo we met nearly forty years ago. And in the latest movie we watched a different young woman take the lead role, we don't know who Rey is. Does she descend from royal lineage? Is she the the chosen one to break into Disney Princess group.