- "This lovely flower was said to have been a favorite to the princess of Hyrule. Once feared to have gone extinct, it's recently been spotted growing in the wild."
- — Hyrule Compendium
The Silent Princess is an item from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It is the name of a white and blue flower found across Hyrule, particularly abundant near Kakariko Village and Korok Forest, and commonly found in Hyrule Ridge, West Necluda, and all Great Fairy Fountains. Several grow near the Master Sword's pedestal in Korok Forest. One can be found in Princess Zelda's Study in Hyrule Castle.
Link can cook with it to create "Sneaky" dishes or sell it for ten Rupees. Like all flowers it is classified as an "Herb" and will usually produce herb based dishes when cooked. Like other herbs it is also considered a vegetable and sometimes produce vegetable-based food dishes such as Glazed Veggies and Veggie Rice Balls. Link can also cook it with Sunset Firefly and monsters parts to create Sneaky Elixir. It is also used by Link as a material to upgrade Champion's Tunic, and the Stealth Mask, Chest Guard and Tights set via Great Fairies.
Recovered Memory #9[]
- "This one here is called the silent princess. It's a rare, endangered species. Despite our efforts, we can't get them to grow domestically yet. The princess can only survive out here in the wild. All we can hope... is the species will be strong enough to prosper, on its own."
- — Princess Zelda
On Irch Plain northeast of the Royal Ancient Lab Ruins during the Quest "Captured Memories", Link can recall his ninth Recovered Memory entitled "Silent Princess". In the memory, while resting under a tree on Irch Plain Zelda is taking pictures of flowers with the Sheikah Slate's Camera Rune while lecturing Link that the flowers of Hyrule are useful as ingredients when she spots a rare Silent Princess growing on the plain. She reveals its name to Link and notes it is an endangered species of flower that only grows in the wild as attempts to grow them domestically have failed. She reveals all she can do is hope it survives on its own. She affectionally refers to the flower as simply "The Princess" while speaking of it. The memory ends with Zelda catching a Hot-Footed Frog and humorously trying to force Link to eat the frog raw to test the effects of its special properties (apparently unaware it must be cooked first with Monster Parts to create a Hasty Elixirs).
Interestingly, no Silent Princess can be found on Irch Plains in present day Hyrule, though one did grow there a century prior. The description for the memory states in the memory Zelda explains her admiration for the flower called the silent princess indicating it is indeed Zelda's favorite flower as she (as she may have been using the royal "we") had been trying to grow them domestically indicating she was trying to save the species and given she says all efforts hadn't been success yet implies she hadn't completely given up on raising them domestically but for the time being hoped they would survive in the wild and even prosper on their own which also may have been tied to Zelda's hopes for herself as she desperately wanted to contribute with or without her sealing powers. The flower growing in Zelda's Study may have been descended from the flowers Zelda attempted to grow herself or its appearance may be a sign Zelda's hopes came true or Zelda had managed to grow one domestically during the time she was keeping Ganon sealed. In some ways Zelda and the Silent Princess parallel each other as all attempts to force the flower to grow domestically had failed just as Zelda had failed to awaken her powers yet both struggled to thrive on their own despite the danger of being wiped out Zelda and her kingdom by the Calamity and the flower by the process of extinction.
Ultimately Zelda's hopes for its survival did come to pass as Link finds them in several places in Hyrule indicating they are thriving as Zelda hoped they would. However it should be noted Silent Princess can be seen growing near the Master Sword's Pedestal in Korok Forest during Recovered Memory #18: "The Master Sword" when Zelda entrusts the Master Sword to the Great Deku Tree and can still be found thriving there a century later when Link retrieves the legendary blade.
Symbol[]
The Silent Princess is the symbol of Breath of the Wild. The flower is said to have been a favorite flower of Princess Zelda and was thought to have gone extinct. Given that a Silent Princess can be found in Princess Zelda's Study, it is likely that the flower was indeed her favorite. During one of Link's recovered memories, Zelda reveals it is a rare and endangered species of flower that the she (Zelda uses the Royal "we" to refer to herself when speaking of it) has been unable to grow domestically yet thus it could only be found in the wild. She reveals her admiration for the flower and notes that she can only hope it is strong enough to prosper on its own. Its being thought to have gone extinct only to be discovered to still exist recently parallels Link whom was thought to have perished during the Calamity only to return one hundred years later. As it is found growing in sacred places such as Great Fairy Fountains, Satori Mountain, and Korok Forest it is implied that they were protected and preserved by the Great Fairies, Lord of the Mountain, and Great Deku Tree while Silent Princess that grows in Zelda's Study may have been protected by Zelda herself as she contained Calamity Ganon though it may also represent that Zelda's hopes that it would thrive on its own came true. As the flower can only thrive in the wild it likely symbolizes the wilderness of Hyrule as well as the game's title.
During his quest, Link may encounter Sorelia and her husband Tye whom he can save from monsters. They reveal to be traveling in search of a Silent Princess which they had only heard about in legends. The flower is indeed believed to bring good fortune to couples who pluck it and swear their eternal love to one another. The belief it brings good fortune to couples may symbolize or reference the popular perception of a potential romantic connection between various incarnations of Link and Zelda, as Kass notes his Sheikah mentor believed Zelda only had eyes for her appointed knight implying Kass' mentor believed Zelda was in love with Link (however he could have easily misinterpreted Zelda's closeness to Link, which could just easily be a platonic friendship due to their shared destiny of opposing Ganon).
The sneaky attribute of the Silent Princess may be a reference to Zelda's Sheik alter-ego from Ocarina of Time, as several are required to upgrade the Sheik's Mask head armor.
The flower appears in the Breath of the Wild game's logo along with the Master Sword. It also appears aside the Master Sword of Resurrection statue of the European and Japanese Limited Editions and the North American Master Edition of Breath of the Wild.
Gallery[]
.jpg "Silent Princess Master Edition merchandise (Breath of the Wild).jpg (90 KB)")