Aurora And Phillip Age Gap
TL;DR: Princess Aurora is 16 years old in Sleeping Beauty, while Prince Phillip is around 20 years old. This creates an estimated age gap of 4 years between them. The film does not specify Phillip’s exact age, but early Disney sources and storyboards suggest he is in his early twenties.
Prince Phillip
January 29, 1939
Princess Aurora
January 29, 1943
Aurora And Phillip Age Difference Infographic
Wait, People Are Still Debating a 1959 Cartoon Couple?
The Aurora-Phillip age discourse is having a moment, and honestly, it's more revealing about us than them. The 1959 animated film locks Aurora's age at exactly 16—thanks to Maleficent's extremely specific curse about pricking her finger "before the sun sets on her 16th birthday." Meanwhile, Phillip's age of 20 comes from fan consensus based on him looking like a young boy (around 4-6 years old) at baby Aurora's christening.
Here at Age-Gap Files, we've seen every celebrity pairing imaginable, but animated royalty hits different when modern viewers realize their childhood OTP features a high schooler and a college student.
Plot twist incoming: The live-action films said "hold my spinning wheel" and made it spicier...
How Did Maleficent Double Down on the Age Gap?
Disney's live-action universe went rogue. In 2014's Maleficent, they kept Aurora at 16 but aged Phillip up to 23—suddenly we're dealing with a 7-year gap. By Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019), set five years later, we've got a 21-year-old Aurora with a 29-year-old Phillip maintaining that expanded difference.
The receipts are clear: Disney deliberately chose to widen the gap in their modern retelling. Whether that's about casting logistics (finding age-appropriate actors) or narrative choices about maturity and power dynamics, the studio clearly decided four years wasn't dramatic enough for Angelina Jolie's universe.
🔍 Age-Gap Intel: The live-action films state their ages explicitly, unlike the animated version where Phillip's age required detective work spanning decades of Disney fandom.
But here's where Disney's source material makes everything even messier...
Why Is This Nothing Like the Original Fairy Tale?
Charles Perrault's 1697 version would make modern critics' heads explode. In the OG "Sleeping Beauty," our girl sleeps for a full century. The prince who wakes her wasn't even born when she dozed off—she's physically 16 but chronologically 116, making their "age gap" a supernatural paradox rather than a social concern.
Disney's 1959 adaptation made the radical choice to eliminate the 100-year snooze. Instead, the entire kingdom naps together for less than a day while Phillip battles dragon-Maleficent. This edit transformed a mystical time-travel romance into a straightforward story about two kids from neighboring kingdoms—and inadvertently created the exact dynamic that gets side-eyed today.
The timeline math that launched a thousand think pieces...
What Do the Numbers Actually Tell Us?
The 1959 narrative deliberately establishes their age difference through three key moments:
The Royal Betrothal: Baby Aurora meets child Phillip (approximately 4-6 years old) at her christening. Their parents literally arrange their marriage before she can hold her own head up.
The Curse Countdown: Maleficent's uber-specific "16th birthday" deadline becomes the film's ticking clock, making Aurora's age impossible to ignore or adjust.
The Forest Meet-Cute: After a 16-year time jump, "Briar Rose" encounters Phillip in the woods. She's celebrating her 16th birthday; he's now 20 based on christening math.
📊 By The Numbers: Their 4-year gap matches other classic Disney couples—Snow White and her Prince (14 and 18) and Belle and Beast (17 and 21) follow the same pattern, suggesting this was Disney's go-to formula for "protective older prince" dynamics.
Speaking of patterns, let's see how Aurora and Phillip stack up against other Disney duos...
How Does Every Disney Couple Compare?
Our Age-Gap Files research reveals Aurora and Phillip aren't even close to the most eyebrow-raising pairing:
- Pocahontas & John Smith: 9 years (she's 18, he's ~27)
- Rapunzel & Flynn Rider: 8 years (she's 18, he's 26)
- Jasmine & Aladdin: 3 years (she's 15, he's 18)
- Ariel & Eric: 2 years (both teens at 16 and 18)
The magic number for classic Disney appears to be 2-4 years, creating just enough seniority for the prince to play hero without entering full "creepy" territory by 1950s-1990s standards. Modern films notably shifted toward adult princesses (Tiana at 19, Rapunzel at 18) or ditched romance entirely (looking at you, Elsa).
💡 Fun Fact: The 2023 live-action Little Mermaid aged both Ariel and Eric up to 18 and ~21, showing how even remakes are adjusting for contemporary comfort levels.
Now for the question making everyone's group chats explode...
Why Does a Cartoon From 1959 Still Trigger Such Strong Reactions?
The Aurora-Phillip debate perfectly captures how we retroactively judge historical media. What registered as standard fairy-tale romance in 1959 now reads as a minor dating an adult—a dynamic that would get someone canceled faster than you can say "once upon a dream."
Critics focus on the minor/adult divide rather than the numerical gap. In many jurisdictions today, their relationship would raise legal red flags. Defenders point out the medieval setting (where 16-year-old royalty regularly married) and the 1950s production context (when different relationship norms prevailed).
The ongoing discourse reveals more about our evolving standards than Disney's original intentions. Every generation re-examines its childhood favorites through contemporary lenses, and Sleeping Beauty lands squarely in the crosshairs.
Time for the ultimate reality check about Disney's editorial choices...
What Can Modern Viewers Actually Learn From This?
Disney's Sleeping Beauty age gap exists because animators in 1959 decided a same-day rescue was more romantic than a century-long coma. That single narrative choice—collapsing 100 years into one afternoon—created the entire "problem" we're dissecting 65 years later.
The film reflects its era's assumptions about romance, maturity, and gender roles. Phillip's four extra years position him as the protector and Aurora's youth emphasizes her innocence—dynamics that made perfect sense to 1950s audiences but feel uncomfortable now.
Modern Disney clearly gets it. Recent films feature either age-appropriate couples, adult protagonists, or abandon romance for self-discovery arcs. The live-action Maleficent films' choice to increase the age gap while making both characters adults in the sequel suggests even Disney recognizes the conversation has shifted.
Your move, Disney+ viewers: Does knowing the exact ages change how you watch the classic, or is this all just numbers on a fairy tale?
The Age-Gap Files investigation continues, and we're absolutely living for how a 1959 cartoon can still start Twitter wars in 2025.
Curious about your own age compatibility? Try our Age Difference Calculator for instant insights.
FAQ
What is the age gap between Aurora and Phillip?
The age gap between Aurora and Prince Phillip is approximately 7 years. Aurora is 16 years old in Sleeping Beauty, while Phillip is estimated to be around 23 years old, based on his appearance and the timeline of the film.
How old was Aurora when she met Philip?
Aurora was 16 years old when she met Prince Phillip. This meeting occurs shortly before her birthday curse is fulfilled in Sleeping Beauty.
What is the age gap between Snow White and Prince Charming?
The age gap between Snow White and Prince Charming is estimated to be around 11 years. Snow White is 14 years old, while Prince Charming appears to be in his mid-20s based on visual cues and historical context.
What is the age gap between the royals?
The age gaps between Disney royals vary, often placing princesses in their teens and princes in their early to mid-20s. Aurora and Phillip differ by 7 years, while Snow White and Prince Charming have an 11-year gap.