The Princess fleet is an eponym

Eponym

An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...

 for the coastal vessels of the Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

 (CPR) in the first half of the 20th Century. The names of these small ocean liners began with the title "Princess."

The ships of the British Columbia Coast Steamships

Canadian Pacific Railway Coast Service

The Canadian Pacific Railway Coast Service, also known as the British Columbia Coast Steamships , was a division of Canadian Pacific Railway which began operating Pacific coastal shipping routes in the late 19th century...

 came to be called "pocket liners" because they offered amenities like a great ocean liner

Ocean liner

An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...

, but on a smaller scale. The CPR princesses were a coastal counterpart to CPR's "Empress" fleet of passenger liners which sailed on trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic routes.

James William Troup is credited with conceiving and building the Princess fleet. In 1913, 10 of the 12 Princess ships in the coastal fleet had been built to the orders of Capt. Troup.

Princess fleet

PRINCESSES OF THE CANADIAN PACIFIC STEAMSHIP FLEET
Active Service	Vessel Name	Launch Date	Maiden Voyage	Other Names	Notes	Loss Date
Canadian Pacific Railway Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...  (1884–1915)
1869	Princess Louise Princess Louise (sidewheeler) Princess Louise was a sidewheel steamboat built in 1869. From 1869 to 1879 this ship was named the Olympia. In 1879 the name was changed to Princess Louise, after Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, a daughter of Queen Victoria who was married to Marquess of Lorne , Governor General of Canada...	1869	1869	Olympia (1869–79)		1906
1888	Princess May Princess May (steamship) Princess May was a steamship built in 1888 which was operated under a number of different names and owners. The ship is best known for having been involved in a grounding in 1910 which left the ship jutting completely out of the water, which became the subject of a famous shipwreck...	1888	1888	SS Arthur, 1888–1896; SS Cass, 1896; SS Ninghchow, 1896–1899; SS Hating, 1899–1901		1935
1902	SS Princess Patricia	1902	1902	SS Queen Alexandra, 1902–1912		1937
1903	Princess Beatrice Princess Beatrice (steamship) Princess Beatrice was a steamship built for and owned by the marine division of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The ship served from 1903 to 1928 in the coastal waters of British Columbia. The ship also operated on Puget Sound on a route from Victoria, British Columbia to Seattle, Washington...	1903	1903			1929
1903	SS Princess Victoria	1902	1903			1952
1907	SS Princess Ena	1907	1907			1936
1907	Princess Royal Princess Royal (steamship) Princess Royal was a wooden steamship built in 1907 for the Canadian Pacific Railway Coast Service. The ship operated on the coasts of British Columbia, south east Alaska, and northern Puget Sound until 1933, when the ship was sold for scrapping....	1907	1907			1933
1908	SS Princess Charlotte			SS Mediterranean, 1950–1965		1965
1910	SS Princess Adelaide SS Princess Adelaide SS Princess Adelaide was a passenger vessel in the coastal service fleet of the Canadian Pacific Railway during the first half of the 20th century....	1910	1910	SS Angelika, 1949–1967		1967
1910	SS Princess Mary SS Princess Mary SS Princess Mary was a passenger vessel in the coastal service fleet of the Canadian Pacific Railway during the first half of the 20th century....	1910	1910			1954
1911	SS Princess Alice SS Princess Alice (1911) SS Princess Alice was a passenger vessel in the coastal service fleet of the Canadian Pacific Railway during the first half of the 20th century....	1911	1911	SS Aegaeon, 1949–1966	Pacific coast, 1911–1949; Mediterranean, 1949–1966	1966
1912	SS Princess Sophia	1911	1912		Pacific coast, 1912–1918	1918
1913	SS Princess Maquinna	1912	1913			1962
1913	Island Princess Island Princess (steamboat) The steamboat Daily operated in the early 1900s as part of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet. In later years, Daily was renamed Island Princess and later Cy Peck.-Construction:...	1913	1913	SS Daily 1913-1918, SS Cy Peck, 1930–1986		1986
1914	SS Princess Margaret	1914	1914			1929
1915	SS Princess Irene SS Princess Irene A number of steamships were named Princess Irene, including -* SS Princess Irene , North German Lloyd liner* SS Princess Irene , Canadian Pacific Steamships liner which served as HMS Princess Irene during WWI...	1914	1915		converted minesweeper, blew up Sheerness 27.5.15	1915
Canadian Pacific Steamships Ocean Services Ltd. (1915–1971)
1921	SS Princess Louise	1921	1921			1990
1923	SS Motor Princess	1923	1923	SS Pender Queen, 1961–1981	sold as a hotel at Saltspring Island, BC in 1981
1925	SS Princess Kathleen SS Princess Kathleen (1924) The SS Princess Kathleen was a passenger and freight steamship owned and operated by Canadian Pacific Steamships. She served the coastal communities of British Columbia, Alaska and Washington....	1924	1925		Pacific coast, 1925–1939; war years, 1939–1947; Pacific coast, 1947–1952	1952
1925	SS Princess Marguerite	1924	1925			1942
1928	SS Princess Elaine	1927	1928		floating restaurant 1963	1976
1928	Princess Norah Princess Norah (steamship) Princess Norah was a steamship which operated in British Columbia and southeastern Alaska from 1929 to 1964. From 1955 to 1958, this ship was called Queen of the North...	1928	1928	SS Queen of the North, 1955–1958; SS Canadian Prince, 1958–1964		1964
1930	SS Princess Elizabeth	1930	1930	SS Pegasus, 1961–1973; SS Highland Queen, 1973–1976		1976
1930	SS Princess Helene SS Princess Helene SS Princess Helene was a historic Canadian passenger and freight ferry operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway .The Princess of Helene was built in 1930 at Dumbarton, Scotland...	1930	1930	SS Helene, 1963–1965; SS Carina II, 1965–1967; SS Carina, 1967–1977	Bay of Fundy Bay of Fundy The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine... , 1930–1963	1977
1930	SS Princess Joan	1930	1930	SS Hermes, 1961–1974		1974
1944	SS Trailer Princess	1944	1944	SS Coronis, 1944–1966
1945	SS Princess of Alberni	1945	1945	SS Pomare, 1948–1953; SS Nootka Prince, 1958-1959; SS Ocean Crown, 1959-1985		1985
1946	SS Yukon Princess	1945	1946	SS West Princess, 1959; SS Rosita, 1959-1964		1964
1949	SS Princess Marguerite	1948	1949			1996
1949	SS Princess Patricia	1948	1949			1989
1950	MV Princess of Nanaimo	1950	1951	MV Princess of Acadia, 1963-1971; MV Princess of Nanaimo, 1971-73; MV Henry Osborne, 1973-1974	Pacific coast, 1949-1963; Bay of Fundy, 1963-1971	1974
1955	MV Princess of Vancouver MV Princess of Vancouver (1955) MV Princess of Vancouver was a passenger vessel in the Pacific coastal service fleet of the Canadian Pacific Railway .The ship was part of the CPR "Princess fleet," which was composed of ships having names which began with the title "Princess"....	1955	1955	MV Vancouver Island Princess, 1987-1993; MV Nan Hai Ming Zhu, 1991-2001; MV Pearl of South China Sea, 2001-	Pacific coast, 1955-1990
1971	MV Princess of Acadia MV Princess of Acadia (1971) MV Princess of Acadia is a passenger and car ferry that travels between Digby, Nova Scotia and Saint John, New Brunswick, crossing the Bay of Fundy. The vessel holds 650 passengers and can take 165 cars....	1971	1971		Bay of Fundy, 1971-