Prince alluded to being held in high esteem (9)
I believe the answer is:
preferred
'held in high esteem' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both related to thinking as well as being past participle verbs.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'prince alluded' is the wordplay.
'prince' becomes 'p'.
'alluded' becomes 'referred' (I've seen this before).
'p'+'referred'='PREFERRED'
'to being' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for preferred that I've seen before include "Chose before others" , "Was partial to" , "Liked better" , "choice" , "singled out" .)