The disappearance of Princess Rapunzel has long been a mystery in the kingdom of Corona. As a baby she was taken from the royal palace by an unidentified woman and brought to an unknown location. Since her disappearance a holiday involving releasing lanterns every year on her birthday has taken place with the hope that one day, she might find her way back home. This day came eighteen years after her disappearance, shortly after the lantern festival, when Rapunzel found her way back to the royal palace.

“It was obviously a shock,” said the King. “When we saw her it was clear to us that it was Rapunzel, and we were too shocked to even say anything.”

After the celebration of Rapunzel’s return, the family began to piece together the story of what happened. They discovered that on that night, eighteen years ago, a woman known only as Gothel took to the baby due to the magical properties her hair held. For the time since her disappearance Rapunzel lived in a tower, far away from the heart of the kingdom, with no contact to the outside world. She knew no one except for Gothel and wasn’t allowed to leave the tower, not even with supervision.

“I wanted to go out so bad,” Rapunzel said, “but she never let me. She always told me that the world was dangerous, and that the only place I was safe in was the tower. I didn’t really
agree with her, but there was no way I could go against her either.”

Her first contact with the outside world began when a thief called Flynn Ryder climbed up in the tower to escape from royal guards. Eventually they created a plan: if Flynn would bring
her to the kingdom and allow her to see the lanterns being released, then she’d give him an expensive crown from her tower. With Flynn’s help Rapunzel was able to escape her tower for one day and experience life in the outside world. While in the kingdom she noticed a mural depicting the King and Queen holding their baby daughter – a baby that she noticed resembled herself. She noticed sun motifs that decorated the streets and flags, a symbol that felt strangely familiar to her and that she’d painted on her own walls inside the tower. When Gothel found out Rapunzel had left, she tricked her and brought her back home. It was here that the pieces clicked, and Rapunzel realized that she was the lost princess to Corona, and that Gothel had been hiding her intentionally, not for her own safety but to hide her from knowing the truth. After Gothel fell out of the tower and died, Rapunzel was able to finally leave forever and be reunited with her real family. Since then, the royal family and the kingdom of Corona have had numerous celebrations to commemorate Rapunzel’s return.

“It’s exciting to spend everyday learning about the kingdom I always wanted to know more about and have freedom that I always dreamed of,” Rapunzel said, “and of course I’ve been enjoying my time with the family I didn’t know I had.”