Pick up your heads, besties. Your crown is slipping down.

With the dawning of this new year, we’ve been given a rush of new information from The Sims Team on their plans moving forward in 2026. From attempting to clear up some of the confusion online with the latest content roadmap, to the newest teaser for the upcoming The Sims 4 expansion. It seems like 2026 is bound to be an exciting year for The Sims 4.

Doubly so if you’d read our article covering the teaser reveal, you would know that, not only will we seemingly be getting some form of monarchial/royalty system, but…

It will come with the mark of someone who has been in the shadow of our gameplay since The Sims 4‘s release. A character that all The Sims 4 players will know from their time sifting through Build/Buy for just the right bed to tie together a room, or even taking a walk across the sun-kissed beaches of Sulani.

I’m referring, of course, to Princess Cordelia—patron of the arts, sailor of the high seas, and lover of many, many pirates. This article gives a brief overview of this enigmatic figure in light of her potential proper introduction into the series. Be that physically, finally, be included in our ever-expanding roster of premade townies, or, maybe, as a beloved founder (or figure) of whatever new World our Sims may soon rule over.

The People’s Princess – The Timeline of Cordelia Thebes

Princess Cordelia is a recurring Easter Egg that has been in The Sims 4 since its inception. Her lore is scattered through the Build/Buy catalogue, from paintings to statues to beds to staircases, and even deeper still into Debug, where Cordelia’s mythology can be found in a variety of collectables.

What I’m getting at is that she’s everywhere; you’ve mostly seen her name paging through Build/Buy, or your Sim’s own inventory. Eyes scanning for images and not reading the paragraph(s) in the description. Which? It makes sense. Maybe you’re deep into a challenger, or trying to puzzle out if this item is the one to you finally needed to complete your collection.

That’s why I’m here to geek out and give you the lowdown in detail. No Build/Buy skimming required.

Our Intrepid Cast (Available for Download Now!)

The princess and her crew of merry men (and cook, and butler) are available to download from the gallery. This household was created by Maxis, but is unfortunately not exclusively base game, as everyone’s outfits (and traits) are equally spread across Vampires, Get Famous, Island Living, City Living, and several miscellaneous stuff packs. Obviously, you can download them regardless, and redress them to your heart’s content.

Don’t let the potential lack of pack “needed” inhibit your creativity. It’s your game, dudes, have fun!

The Many Pirate Boyfriends of Princess Cordelia

Before going into the deeper, the life of the people’s princess; first? You have to know a bit more about her love life. While poor Matilda the Cook and Bob the Butler’s stories ended on the steps of the Eppsilon (spoilers),

Long John Buttercups was Princess Cordelia’s first pirate boyfriend and, unfortunately for him, most certainly not the last. He was the first boyfriend to be moved into the Elippson along with his crew, and the two of them were together for a time. A majority of the furniture bearing his namesake is because she claimed it looked like his old ship. Cordelia dumped him because he was a bit too delighted by her corset and bustle. Which? Not to yuck his yum, but yikes. When she dumped him, as she’d had to fire Matilda, she kept the cook from his crew as part of her staff on the submersible. It’s also heavily implied he’s the “stinky pirate” boyfriend. Specifically, the one she built the ‘Last Resort Sink’ for along with emergency cologne stations. Double yikes.

Chaz MacFreeling was the princess’s second pirate boyfriend and, frighteningly, had the best hygiene of the bunch. This unfortunately paired with the fact that he was exceptionally vain. So vain, in fact, that Princess Cordelia dumped him due to his unnerving habit of constantly staring at his reflection in every mirror he came across. She was kind enough to send him packing with some citrus for his scurvy, though. The princess would go on to name every mirror she ever designed after him.

Rodrigo De Pablo was Cordelia’s clumsiest boyfriend. Sinking his own galleon in a mishap involving kelp, a mermaid, and a dolphin, and then going on to lose his leg in an accident on the Eppsilon. Despite this, Rodrigo was considered to have been the love of Cordelia’s life. As of The Sims 4 Adventure Awaits, we learn that he was also the greatest lepidopterist of all time, and would go on to (accidentally) discover all 14 of the available butterflies in Gibbi Point. One he, of course, would name after Princess Cordelia: The Cordelian Butterly. He was quoted to have written that as the Cordelian Butterly fluttered by “its wings echo the lilac depths of her gaze and the silken grace of her gown, a tribute to my cherished princess.”

Cordelia’s Lost Kingdom

Cordelia was a member of the Royal House of Thebe, though, curiously, none of the items that share her history seem to mention her surname (which was unknown until her submission to the gallery). She was said to have lived in a “grand palace” which was on the coast of a “vast kingdom” though, unfortunately, the name of said kingdom was never given. The above painting, ‘Land-Light Coral’, found in Base Game, shows a quaint costal village. According to Cordelia, the residents of her kingdom were known to dress formally; with men wearing top hats, and women in gowns. She also mentions that the many cats living in the kingdom were not to her taste, as they often made her sneeze.

This all seems lovely…but it all came to an end when the Sloths attacked. The Great Sloth Invasion was a tragedy that struck the princess’s kingdom and forced its inhabitants to evacuate, lest they perish to the claws of the invading Giant Sloths. Thankfully, she was able to escape just in the nick of time into her submersible, The Epsilon, with her current pirate boyfriend, Captain Long John Buttercups, and his motley crew.

Unfortunately, though she was able to most everything she could carry into her sub, despite The Eppsilon having 48 rooms onboard, there wasn’t enough room for her beloved personal Jazz band, or her butler Bob, and her personal chef Matilda. All of whom she unfortunately had to let go before setting off into the unknown. It’s said that the pianist in her jazz band rolled his piano atop the Eppsilon and “played until it went under” so that his name might live on. Which, despite him being a jazz muscian, that was pretty metal, honestly.

Under The Sea (in the Submersible)

As the Princess is a “Child of the Ocean” and loved the outdoors, her life in confinement on The Eppsilon was most likely difficult. Most of her time in the submersible was spent in her workshop; advising her furniture artisans in crafting furniture pieces inspired by her personal experiences of the ocean, and drawing inspiration from the sea life she would watch in the windows of her sub.

It’s said that when Cordelia would spin the globe in her room and, whatever country it landed on, that’s where she told the pilot to sail toward. To make money, she would regularly sell the furniture they crafted at the port of the latest city they visited.

A Cottage in Henford-on-Bagley

She initially settled in Henford-on-Bagley, where she enjoyed life in the countryside and the pastoral lifestyle that came with it. Possibly staying in the cottage at the base of the falls in The Bramblewood, both of which bearing her name. Cordelia was believed to have enjoyed her time exploring the area and swimming in the brisk waters of the River Bagley.

A rather novel experience for came about when, due to the absence of her staff, specifically that of her stair butler, whom efficiently carried her up and down the stairs, she had to navigate climbing stairs on her own. Cordelia would go on to write about such “peasant stairs” in her diary, as the experience was that memorable.

Sailin’ through Sulani

In Sulani, the Princess and her current boyfriend, Rodrigo De Pablo, experienced a battle of attrition with the Dread Pirate Morgan. She and Cordelia fighting a battle of wits as one sought to protect the denizens of Ohan’ali Town, and the other cared only for the bountiful treasures to be plundered from its people.

In the end, the Dread Pirate Morgan sailed into the unknown with said treasure in the hold of her ship, The Red Annie, and Ohan’ali Town’s port was left ablaze in her wake after her and Princess Cordelia’s climatic final parley. The princess would go on to aid the islanders in rebuilding their lives from the ashes. Gaining the title of “Princess Cordelia the Bold” by them for her efforts, and helping Ohan’ali Town to become what we know of it in-game in the present day.

As, to Princess Cordelia, the treasure of Sulani was never a chest full of gold, but that of the islands themselves.

Tarts and Tea in Tartosa

One of the final locales visited by Princess Cordelia, it’s stated in Grapevine Gossip that she may have been drawn in by the distinctive glow of Tartosa’s waves. The princess would go on to develop a close bond with Lady Tartosa lounging on the beach, sailing on the seas, and devouring moutains of fruit tarts. Their relationship would eventually sour; be from a potential affair with Rodrigo (how scandelous) or being stiffed an especially sweet fruit tart, who knows.

Despite this insult, Cordelia and her beau would go on to leave a permanant mark on Tartosa as the famous Lover’s Tree would sprout from wood originally carved into the shape of Princess and Cordelia and Rodrigo De Pablo as a ship’s figurehead. When the ship sank the people of Tartosa, moved at the memory of their love, brought the effigy at the top of the hill by Hideaway Falls. When, a year passed, and the wood magically sprouted leaves and branches. Growing into the Lover’s Tree that stands in Tartosa in the present day, and forever serving as a reminder of the love of these two adventerous travellers.

A Tartosan Sim, named Rodrigo Thebe, claims to have been her son. A final reminder of her long lost love. Due to the resemblance between Arnessa Thebe, his descendent (a pre-made living in Tartosa), and the uploaded version of Princess Cordelia on the gallery, I’d say that rumor is most definitely confirmed.

Princess Cordelia’s Fun Facts

As a send-off, here’s a variety of fun facts on our beloved princess that more miscellaneous and don’t neatly fit into the timeline I’ve presented above.

• Princess Cordelia was a world-renowned marble champion as a child, and once won a marble while playing with a mermaid who lived in the tide pools near her home.
• Princess Cordelia helped design the buildings of the University of Britechester during her years at the school. It also houses a collection of her diaries about staying at a nearby castle.
• The item description for the ‘Captain Rodrigo De Pablo Ottoman’ seems to imply that he died with the final quip “At least he never suffered a broken heart.” As we know that he’s Princess Cordelia’s last pirate boyfriend, it implies that they never broke up, and he instead passed away.
• Cordelia used the fire spat of the kraken that regularly attacked the Eppsilon to fire the porcelain of the ‘Princess Cordelia’s Bathtub’
• Cordelia’s second pirate boyfriend, Chaz Macfreeling, is a reference to the MySims character, Chaz McFreely. Though the two look nothing alike and have no similar characteristics save the name. Oh, well.
• Cordelia’s surname, Thebe, seems to be a reference to Queen Thebe; a deceased maternal ancestor of the Veronaville family the Capps.
• Princess Cordelia’s lore is spread across 86 items throughout the many expansions of The Sims 4! This is only referencing Build/Buy items. Including collectables, it’s closer to 100.

So that’s it! Were you surprised at the depth of Cordelia’s lore, or are you just hyped at the idea of royalty coming to The Sims 4? Always remember that The Sims Community is your one-stop shop for all things The Sims 4 and the latest and greatest in LifeSim news!