Princess apps have been one of the blind spots for Apps Playground since we launched: our two sons have never shown much interest in “girlish” (in their words, not ours!) apps, so sweeping skirts and tiaras have been notable by their absence.

Since the summer, though, Alice and I (Apps Playground’s co-founders) have been sharing a house with another family unit – specifically, her sister’s – including our six year-old niece. It’s already clear that princesses are going to be a bigger part of our daily life.

Obviously, Frozen princesses are to the fore already – LET IT GOOOOOO – but Sofia the First has also returned to our radar. And with perfect timing, the commoner-turned royal character has a brand new app from Disney: Sofia the First Color and Play.

Released for iPhone and iPad late last week, it’s a digital colouring app set in Sofia’s royal bedroom. And it features some nifty technology that, once children have coloured in the furnishings and decor, makes it spring into life in 3D.

“Paint Sofia and Clover any way you like with infinite combinations of tools, colors, patterns, stickers, and more,” explains its App Store listing. “Use the magic wand to watch your paintings become fully-animated 3D characters in a 3D world.”

We also like the use of the device’s camera to pull in textures from the real world, as we’ve seen before in apps like Toca Tailor. We certainly think our niece will love this. And perhaps our sons will sneak the odd go too…

Sofia the First Color and Play costs £2.99 for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store.