One of the most recurring fairy tales is that of a commoner and a prince falling in love, with an everyday girl becoming a real princess. Well, this story doesn’t only happen in fairy tales. In fact, there are many real-life examples. From journalists to queens and from personal trainers to princes, there are all kinds.

These are 10 real-life stories of commoners who abandoned their everyday lives in order to become royalty.

1. Kate Middleton

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This is one of the most recent and also most widely known about stories. She met Prince William while they studied together at St. Andrew’s University and got married in 2011. Kate became Princess of the United Kingdom and the Duchess of Cambridge.

2. Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano

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From a journalist to the Queen of Spain. This story is even more incredible due to the fact the Letizia had previously been married, something which isn’t common at all among royal family members.

3. Daniel Westling

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The main characters in these stories aren’t always women. Daniel Westling met Victoria, Princess of Sweden, while he was her personal trainer. After a while, they fell in love and got married, despite the total opposition of other members of the Swedish royal family.

4. Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti

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The Queen of the Netherlands is Latin American! Máxima is an Argentine woman with whom Willem-Alexander, then prince, fell in love with at a fair in Seville. Now, Willem has been crowned King and Máxima has become a very uncommon case of Queen from the Americas in Europe.

5. Alfonso Díez

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This man is 24 years younger than the now-deceased Duchess of Alba. This detail was used by the press to suggest that their relationship was motivated by money. But Alfonso even signed an agreement guaranteeing that he wouldn’t receive any of the Duchess’ fortune when they married in 2012.

6. Diana Spencer

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She married Prince Charles in 1981 and while she wasn’t quite a complete commoner (she was already a member of a British noble family), the status she reached after becoming Princess made her one of the most loved princesses in history.

7. Lalla Salma

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This beautiful woman went from working as an engineer to being the Princess of Morocco. She also represents her husband at official meetings at which he is unable to attend. They met at a party in 1999, married 2 years later and are parents to two children.

8. Mette-Marit Tjessem Hoiby

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The current Princess of Norway met her future husband, Prince Haakon in a rather unfamiliar environment for most royalty: a rock festival. Her relationship with Haakon has been highly criticized since the woman was a single mother from a humble background.

9. Charlene Wittstock

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This South African used to be a professional swimmer. In fact, she even competed at the Olympic Games. She met Prince Albert II of Monaco at a swimming competition and they got married several years later.

10. Rania Al-Yassin

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She’s now known as the Queen of Jordan despite being born in Kuwait. This woman is an administrator by trade and worked at Citibank and Apple until she met King Abdullah, who was Prince at the time. She was declared Queen in 1999 and has used her position to make a big impact on several global causes, such as education, world peace, and the economy.

Had you heard about these real-life Cinderellas? Now you know, the idea that your future partner could be royalty isn’t as far-fetched as it seems after all.