Children of all ages have long demonstrated an interest in all things royal. From endless princess dress-up parties to the broomstick battles of knights and kings, kids love playing games that let them use their imaginations to the fullest. When it comes to birthday parties, sleepovers, and other events, there are countless fun royalty party themes you and your children can create.
In the following article, we’ve listed some of the best royalty party themes we could find and included some helpful advice on how to make the party an event to remember. Below, you’ll find themes to fit a variety of budgets, and that will appeal to both boys and girls (and adults). We’ve also included some suggestions for games and events to help keep the kids entertained.
1. Princess for a Day
What little girl hasn’t dreamed of being “Princess for a Day” on their birthday? To make this theme a hit, you need to decorate your home or yard with some royal-looking drapery and get some decorative cups, plates, and table settings from your nearest party store. You’ll also want to get your hands on a beautiful ornate crown for the princess to wear on her special day.
To truly make this theme work, you should contact the parents of the attending children and encourage them to wear their best princess, prince, and knight outfits. During the coronation ceremony, they can all present the new princess with gifts, and – once she has donned her crown – she can begin opening them and offering her heartfelt thanks to her attendees.
As you might expect, this type of theme can be accompanied by all sorts of activities and games to keep the children entertained. Just be sure to keep the little princess the center of attention, so she can truly feel like it’s a day just for her.
2. The King’s Coronation
For every little girl that wants to be Princess for a Day, there is a little boy that would love to be king of his very own kingdom. To properly execute this theme, you don’t need to do much more different than you would for a girl. Perhaps you could have the decorations match the king’s favorite color, and make him feel like a real ruler by letting him choose the games, events, and food for his coronation.
As with the Princess for a Day idea, you’ll want to have a portion of the party dedicated toward “crowning” the new king. You can find impressive-looking decorative crowns for both boys and girls from most party stores, as well as plastic goblets, trinkets, and other “medieval” accouterments. Just be creative, and the kids will be creative as well!
3. The Belle of the Ball
What child wouldn’t want an entire royal dance dedicated to their birthday? For this theme, you can get royal party decorations from your local party store and pick out a variety of music to which all of the attending children can dance. Depending on the ages of the kids, you might want to have a variety of fun music so they don’t get bored.
This theme can also be combined with games like Musical Chairs. To put a royal spin on the game, play some music and tell the kids that when it stops, they must stand as still as a statue. Have your prince or princess (or an adult) walk around the room and try to spot anyone moving or laughing. It’s a great way to have a fun “ball” when the kids aren’t quite ready to dance with each other yet.
4. The Castle Builders
There are online companies like Kid Eco that sell cardboard playhouses and castles. A tremendous idea for a royal party would be for you and the children to assemble and decorate the castle that will house your king, queen, prince, or princess. While the parents might want to do the majority of the setting up, kids will love the fact that they can draw on the walls and decorate the castle to their hearts’ content.
Once the castle is complete and decorated as the children see fit, you have a brand-new centerpiece for your royal party. If you have any ideas for games or you want to crown the birthday boy or girl with all the pomp and glitz of a real royal event, this is the perfect place to do it. Though it won’t last forever, the castle can always be disassembled and played with time and time again.
5. The Royal Tea Party
This theme is one that works for all ages, from little kids to teens to adults. Buy or rent some tables and set them up in a long row. Cover them with royal looking table clothes and draperies and decorate them with the usual fare from your local party store. Send out invitations for a Royal Tea Party and ask your attendees to come dressed in their finest clothes.
The focus of the event should be seated at the head of the table, and the tea should be served at an appropriate time by trusted servants (parents or friends). Depending on the reason for the event, the tea party can be followed up by games, activities, or gifts. It’s a sophisticated and fun way to encourage some social interaction without breaking your party budget.
6. Sweet 16 Princess Party
Appealing to the sensibilities of a 16-year-old girl is no easy task – just ask any parent. However, if there’s one event a girl of this age can genuinely enjoy, it’s her Sweet 16 party (or Quinceanera for those of Latina heritage). This “coming of age” party is traditionally themed, and a royal theme is a perfect way to make the young lady feel truly special.
To appeal to older kids, the decorations, party favors, and events should be a bit more sophisticated than they would for a young child. The best thing to do is to ask the young lady what she would like to do and in what order she would like to do it. Doing this not only takes the pressure off of you but gives her a sense of involvement in her party. It may not be a kingdom, but it’s a start!
7. The Royal Treasure Hunt
If you have a big yard or a lot of children, a Royal Treasure Hunt is a great way to keep the kids entertained for the duration of the party. As always, you’ll want to make sure the decorations and other aspects of the get-together are in line with a royal theme, and you’ll also want to design the items in the treasure hunt to fit as well.
There’s no set way to do this hunt, but there are a few different ideas that can be employed depending on the age and attention spans of the children involved.
The “Easter Egg” Hunt
In this version of the game, you would hide decorative bags of candies and other goodies all over your yard, house, play area, etc. Send the kids off to find as many as they can, and tell them to bring them back and present them before the king, queen, princess, or prince. One all the bags are accounted for, the ruler can hand them out to each child so they can enjoy whatever’s hidden within.
The Scavenger Hunt
In this version, you would create a list of Royal-themed items that your attendees can find. In this case, it works best if the children split off into teams. The first team to come back with a complete list wins the game.
While the previous version works for kids of younger ages, the scavenger hunt version of this game is fun for everyone from grade-schoolers to adults.
8. The Royal Garden Party
Here is an example where adults are encouraged to get in on the fun. A Royal Garden Party is a savvy, sophisticated event that you can apply to all manner of occasions, from housewarmings to baptisms to anniversaries. Where there are many ways to go about throwing such an event, it depends a lot on to what lengths the party hosts want to go.
In many cases, merely encouraging friends to show up and enjoy some beverages and snacks while dressed in their royal best is enough to have a successful garden party. Hosts who genuinely want to take their garden party seriously can consider decorating the entire area in medieval fare, hiring caterers to wait on attendees, and having each guest choose a name and character to play throughout the event.
9. The Royal Tournament
In medieval times, kings and queens often celebrated birthdays, marriages, and other big events with tournaments intended to entertain royal guests. With a surprisingly minimal investment, you and your family can do the same! Tournaments are suitable for all ages, from children up to teens and even adults. Below, we’ll give you some tournament ideas for all three categories.
Tournament Ideas for Kids
- Jousting or fighting with pool noodles or other soft “weapons.”
- A timed obstacle course with tunnels, limbo sections, and tests of strength.
- Pinata “battles” to see who can defeat the candy dragon.
- Frisbee toss games with baskets of different distance and point values.
- A melee tag or dodge ball game.
- A bean bag toss to knock down enemy knights (2-liters and cans with printed “invaders.”
Tournament Ideas for Teens and Adults
- A Royal Scavenger Hunt in which the players must remain in character while searching around the neighborhood.
- Frisbee golf tournament around the yard or park
- Relay races, sack races, and wheelbarrow races
- A melee tag or dodge ball game
- A water balloon toss
- Flip cup (with or without adult beverages)
10. Building the Kingdom
This is a craft-based royalty party theme designed for children of all ages. If you have a small budget to buy supplies from the craft store and access to a printer, you can create an endless array of products for the kids with which the children can play. Below, we’ve listed just a few ideas. You’re welcome to do just one or two or spend the entire day having your party attendees construct their kingdom.
The Royal Crest
Print out some basic shield outlines and have the kids draw their very own family crest. If you want to be even more creative, get some basic balsa wood shields from a craft store and have them paint their crest and take it home with them. Kids will love putting dragons and other mythological beasts on their crests.
If you think they’ll find drawing or painting boring, you can also print crest elements and have them glue them on.
The Suit of Armor
Have each child design their own “suit of armor” out of old clothes. Using t-shirts, sweatpants, and sweatshirts, help the kids paint scales and metal plates onto their “armor” so they can look their best for the duration of the party.
If you have access to items like extra towels, you can also help them create capes to complete the look. Alternatively, you can use cut paper plates and string to create helmets.
The Map of the Kingdom
If you have any artistic talent (or know someone who does), you can get a large piece of display paper or cardboard and have the kids take turns describing their “kingdom” to you. Start with the castle in the center, and move from blank spot to blank spot having kids tell you what’s there.
From deep valleys filled with goat people to high mountains haunted dragons, there’s no telling what they’ll come up with when they get going. After you have the Kingdom all mapped out, you can encourage the kids to play a number of games as if they were in that land. It’s a fun way to spend an afternoon and lets kids use their imaginations.
11. The Royal Feast
Nothing says “royalty” like a long table covered end to end with fabulous foods and endless mugs of delicious royal brew. Of course, depending on the age group of your attendees, you’ll have to decide if Root Beer would be more appropriate than the real thing.
For this party theme, you’ll want to put out long tables and to and line them with as many tablecloths as you can. Place chairs around one side of the table, while reserving the center for the guest or guests of honor. Since you’ll want to ensure you have a lot of types of food to represent the theme authentically, this event works very well as a potluck or even a southern style pig pickin’.
12. The Royal Crown Party
Sure, everybody loves to be the center of attention, but why let one girl have all the fun when everyone can be a Princess for a day? This theme is perfect for younger girls, many of whom will likely be in a “princess phase” for the majority of their childhoods. For this theme, you’re going to have each princess design their own crows, necklaces, and other jewels.
First, you need to attend your local party store to see what they have. If you can’t find anything to serve as a suitable crown, try printing some out on your home printer, along with a bunch of gems, jewels, and diamonds that the girls can paste on the frames. You might also be able to find charm necklaces and bracelets that girls can use to make other jewelry – use your imagination!
Invite them to come over in their prettiest princess dresses, and announce to them that you’re going to have them design their very own crown and jewelry. At the end of the part, photograph each girl wearing their best princess getup and given them a copy or printout so that they can show it to their friends and parents.
13. The Fairytale Wedding
While it’s doubtful (but not entirely out of the question) that you might want to have your real wedding be completely fairytale themes. A royal fairytale wedding is a perfect way to celebrate an anniversary or vow renewal, regardless of the age of the participants. Not only will this party theme make for some unique pictures, but it will also provide a memorable experience for all attendees.
Depending on your budget and just how far you want to take the concept, you can decorate your yard our house with all sorts of medieval elements. From a wedding alter made of vines and leaves and covered with twinkling Christmas lights to a full entourage of “servants” offering snacks to guests, the particulars are up to the Lord and Lady of the house.
14. The Other Type of Royalty
It’s natural to think of medieval times when considering a royal-themed event, but what about modern-day royalty?
Those who have watched and enjoyed the weddings of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle or Prince William and Kate Middleton know that there is a wealth of English royal traditions that you can draw upon for party themes. While they might not be as fun as enjoying a little creative anachronism, your guests will find it much easier to dress up (and much easier to use the accent).
Some ideas for modern royal themes include Royal Weddings for anniversaries and vow renewals, or Royal Garden Parties and Tea Parties for get-togethers, birthdays, and other events. You can ask guests to participate in a variety of different ways, from bringing traditional English snacks and pastries to observing any of the many odd traditions that accompany real Royal Weddings.
15. Celebrating the Arrival of the Prince or Princess
A Christening, Bris, First Communion, or the first introduction of a new baby provides a perfect opportunity for a royal party theme. Whether you want to reveal your new prince or princess according to ancient or modern traditions, there are endless ways to decorate and plenty of unique ways in which your family and friends can participate.
Depending on the type of era you choose as a theme, you can ask your guests and other attendees to dress however they would like. You can have the child accept gifts at the head of a long table and adorn the new prince or princess in a crown or purple drapery. This idea will make it easier for the attendees to lavish them with adoration.
Many party stores carry plates, napkins, and other party favors decorated with prince and princess themes, so this is not a theme that has to cost much money. Best of all, you’ll have lots of photos with which to embarrass your child when they get older.
16. The Great Knight’s Quest
If you have a young boy celebrating a birthday, there are many ways that you can incorporate a royal theme into his celebration. One excellent idea is to form a Knight’s Quest in which he and his friends can participate. Depending on your level of creativity, you can devise all the challenges yourself of merely look to see what ideas are available online.
Themes like this work best when you have other parents to help and when you have a fun environment in which to play. Using some basic woodworking and costuming skills, you can create moats to cross, knights to fight, and challenges to overcome. From riddles and games to feats of strength and memory, you can keep your child and his friends entertained for hours with a little ingenuity.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are dozens of royalty party themes to choose from when designing your next party. These types of themes are not only perfect for playing dress up, but they automatically lend themselves to hundreds of unique games, activities, and projects. No matter which of the ideas on this list you choose, just remember to have fun, be careful, remember your accent!
