Camelot No More? Hiltons Replace Kennedys as America's 'Royal' Family

Camelot No More? Hiltons Replace Kennedys as America's 'Royal' Family

WE: Women's Entertainment Poll Surprises as Paris Hilton Ahead of Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg in Naming the American Princess of the 21st century

NEW YORK, Aug. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Class or controversy? Daring or decorum? Who embodies the qualities of today's American Princess? Perhaps many will be surprised to learn that according to American women, Paris Hilton was recognized above all others as today's true "American Princess." In ranking number one, the Hiltons unseat the Kennedys as Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, long considered the epitome of an American Princess, trailed behind 10 points at number two. In an astonishing Hilton double-whammy, Paris' sister Nicky came in third, a mere 6 points behind Ms. Schlossberg. Of note, Paris ranked #1 with the recognition of almost half of all voters (48%).

The results come from a surprising new survey conducted by WE: Women's Entertainment and the InsightExpress research company, where 1000 American women 18+ were polled on a variety of questions regarding their current opinions on royalty, its role in modern society and the differences in popularity in American vs. royal life.

The survey was executed as research in support of the launch of WE: Women's Entertainment's new reality series American Princess, in which twenty women compete to become the first-ever American Princess. American Princess premieres on WE: Women's Entertainment on August 7 at 10pm ET/7pm PT.

When told about the survey results while summer vacationing on her friend's yacht in the Mediterranean, Paris replied, "That's hot!"

And what criteria did these women use in making their selections for the top "American Princess?" A quarter of the women (24%) polled ranked being part of a famous American family as the top trait, followed by financial wealth, attitude and an even split between a trust fund, expensive clothes and jewels and a multi-million dollar home.

The survey discovered that being an "American Princess" is considered very different though from being a "royal Princess;" more than two-thirds (65%) agreed that being an "American Princess" carries different traits than its royal counterpart.

Still, many perceive royal life across the pond is no fairytale. Many respondents expressed what seems to be a still strong, sympathetic view of Princess Diana's life and sad fate. Respondents comments included:

-- "A royal princess is hounded by the media, and has no private life, to speak of. However, I suppose the position does have many advantages." -- "Life is not all that it is cracked up to be, but you do get pampered and spoiled and live a lush life. You have to act a certain way and hide a lot of your true self." -- "To be either dead or sadder than ever while your husband is either cheating on you ... or hating you as you are teaching your kids the 'best possible' and the Queen disliking you so much, and you go though anorexia and bulimia, and then dying in France so the Prince (Charles) can take another wife, namely Camilla Parker-Bowles, so it must be a rotten life, all the while, no matter what anyone thinks!"

WE: Women's Entertainment is the only cable network dedicated to helping women connect to one another and the world around them. With quality original programming including the hit series "Bridezillas," unique movie packages like "Three Men and A Chick Flick," topical specials and its public affairs initiative WE Empowers Women, the network supports women and appeals to their interests in pop culture, relationships and personal style. WE: Women's Entertainment is a subsidiary of Rainbow Entertainment Services and is currently seen in over 55 million homes.

InsightExpress is the acknowledged pioneer of rapid turnaround, high- quality, online market research services. With its award-winning and patented technology, market research expertise, and access to more than 100 million online individuals, InsightExpress enables its clients to easily harness market research to make the right business decision in real-time. InsightExpress is affiliated with the Interpublic Group, NFO WorldGroup, and General Atlantic Partners.

July 2005 survey results from WE: Women's Entertainment and InsightExpress. Test was conducted within Insight Express' online panel of respondents; a total of 1,000 Women age 18+ were solicited to participate online.

Source: WE: Women's Entertainment

CONTACT: Kim Becker for WE: Women's Entertainment, +1-914-834-0422, or Karen Versoza of WE: Women's Entertainment, +1-917-542-6218; or Zoe Farrell of Dan Klores Communications, for WE: Women's Entertainment, +1-212-981-5116

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