* Early Days: The idea of "Disney Princesses" started organically with the success of classic films like *Snow White* (1937), *Cinderella* (1950), and *Sleeping Beauty* (1959). These films were popular and these characters became icons, but there wasn't a formal franchise yet.
* The 1990s: The concept of a unified franchise started to take shape. Disney began to merchandise and market its female characters together, like in the 1993 film *The Three Musketeers* which features princesses in the supporting cast.
* The 2000s: The modern Disney Princess franchise was officially launched in 2000 with the creation of the "Disney Princess" logo and a line of merchandise featuring the classic princesses. This was further solidified with the release of the direct-to-video film *Cinderella II: Dreams Come True* in 2002, which featured all of the princesses together.
* Continued Growth: Since then, the franchise has grown to include newer princesses like *Mulan*, *Pocahontas*, *Ariel*, *Belle*, *Jasmine*, *Rapunzel*, *Tiana*, *Merida*, *Moana*, *Elsa*, *Anna*, and *Raya*.
Therefore, you could say the Disney Princess franchise was "officially launched" in 2000. However, its roots go back to the very first Disney princess, Snow White, and the development of the franchise has been a gradual process.