She’s very pretty with a cute face and a soft grey coat – and she’s making her debut on the world stage at Spring Fair.

Princess is the first new property from artist and giftware guru Ann Edwards for more than four years and she’s being launched as the little sister to Ann’s ever-popular cat Thomas, who has become a global licensing star. The move is in demand to requests from licensees who wanted a property aimed at the younger female market. Ann explains: “Thomas has been a huge success as an adult licensed character for women, particularly in giftware, tableware and accessories, but we wanted to find a new property which would appeal to young girls and Princess fits the bill perfectly. She’s a very girly-girl and she loves dressing up as every young girl’s dream – so characters will include Princess Ballerina, Princess Pop Star and a Princess Horse-rider – and we will be having lots of fun with her.”

Ann plans to launch Princess into giftware, publishing and plush, as well as fashion accessories and says initial talks with buyers are already encouraging.

“It’s still early days, but we’re in discussion with a major global calendar manufacturer who is very interested, there’s also a proposal on the table for Princess to go into the Far East and we’re also looking at a range of children’s books for the European market,” said Ann.

“Spring Fair will be the first chance for most potential licensees to see Princess and, as we’ll be displaying her alongside new lines featuring Thomas, we expect to have a really good show.”

Thomas’ success has been built on a successful platform of character ranges, including Best of British – where he is dressed as a variety of British-themed icons, such as a Beefeater and a policeman; Countryside Cats, where he is pictured in different locations around the UK; and Domestic Goddess, his kitchen-themed collection.

Ann recently returned from a highly-successful trip to Japan, where she exhibited at the prestigious British Fair in Osaka and, as a result, has now been asked to design an exclusive range of products to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit for a chain of department stores in Korea.

She is now in talks with a major pet accessory manufacturer to develop a new range of canine characters for the High Street and is also working on a project with the Blue Cross.

After Spring Fair, she heads Stateside to the Surtex art licensing trade show in New York in May.