I was born in 1984, and I’m guessing I had this book when I was 6-8 years old. It’s a book of collected tales, but most of them were non-traditional stories. The only traditional stories I remember inside is The Emperor and the Nightingale, and Sing a Song of Sixpence. One story was about a king who got tired of living in his castle and decided to search for another place to live, but eventually ends up back at his castle. Another story was about a king whose soldiers were an untidy and lazy lot, always waking up late and showing up dirty and messy. The princess makes bacon and eggs and tells them they can only have breakfast if they clean up.
These are children’s stories, drawn in cute, cartoony style. Sing a Song of Sixpence was illustrated anthropomorphic animals. The rest are people.
I HAVE FOUND THE BOOK after weeks of internet sleuthing. It’s called “Fairytale Kingdom” by Anne Mckie and illustrated by Ken McKie.