Queen Margaret

* Novel
* Comic

Queen Margaret is a character in "Sister In This Life I Have Become the Queen". The consort and lawful wife of King Leo III, she is also the mother of the main male lead, Crown Prince Alfonso.

## Personality

Margaret is shown to be the model Queen, wise, benevolent, and generous. She founded a center to help the poorest people of San Carlo. She is helpful to Ariadne in preventing her family from greedily claiming the riches gifted to her, and encourages Alfonso to be wary of getting too close to her lest he ruin her marital options. Despite having a kind heart, she is well aware of how the world works, knowing that Ariadne is still an unsuitable candidate for her successor due to her low status, and warns her son that faunting his fondness for her will drive suitors away.

## History

### Early Life

Margaret was a princess of the Gallico Kingdom who became engaged to Leo. Despite the engagement, it was an arranged marriage, and Margaret did not love Leo. She was in love with a friar, and begged him to run away with her. He refused, telling her that it was God’s will that she marry the King and bear his child, and that he remain in the church to serve God. Margaret took his words to heart and fulfilled her royal duty by marrying Leo. As Queen, she founded Ramboiullet Shelter for the poorest of it’s citizens, although the limited resources allowed to her meant that it wasn’t very effective in helping. Eventually, she gave birth to the long awaited heir, Prince Alfonso De Carlo.

### First Timeline

Margaret originally arranged for Alfonso to meet and marry Princess Lariessa De Balloa from the Gallico Kingdom. However, soon after the princess’s arrival, Queen Margaret was assasinated by Countess Rubina and died. Her murder was seen as an attack by her people on their kingdom, since Margaret had initially a daughter of Gallico. Her death caused the Gallican army to demand compensation and launch a military attack on the borders of Estrucan, whoch was successful in seizing the Gaita Region, which led to the Estrucan people developing new prejudice against the Gallicos and doubt Alfonso as their next king for his mother’s Gallican blood in him, ultimately resulting in the arranged marriage being cancelled, and Margaret’s son was instead married to the firstborn daughter of the Cardinal of San Carlo, Isabella De Mare, decided by Leo, who ultimately decided his son’s bride should be of a local noble family without military power or maternal relation, to avoid anymore scandal.

### Second Timeline

Queen Margaret was told by Alfonso that he had met Ariadne, the illegitimate daughter of the Cardinal De Mare by a maid, at Ramboiullet Shelter and had taken a liking to her. She invited the women of the De Mare family, which consisted of Ariadne, her stepmother Lucrezia, and her older half-sister Isabella, to a sermon she was holding at the palace. Isabella embarrasses the family by misinterpreting the sermon, which had been recited in the Gallician language, which she was only beginning to study, and by expressing envy of the lament the saint earned through her sacrifice, but Ariadne, who was much more fluent in the language, spoke of her favorite part and praised the saint for her bravery, salvaging the incident and catching Margaret’s attention. Later, at a tea party following the sermon, Margaret introduced the De Mare women to her highest companions. The difference in dress between the daughters was noted, as Isabella wore a much more decorated gown than Ariadne, who wore a plain dress. Isabella claimed that Ariadne’s dress had once belonged to her, and that she had gifted it to her younger sister, but this backfired on her when it was revealed that Ariadne’s chemise was dirty. Margaret dismissed Lucrezia and Isabella from the tea party and ordered one of her ladies to take Ariadne for a change of clothes.

When Ariadne denounced the Apostle as a fraud at the state mass, she gained praise and admiration from the people of San Carlo, especially from the royal family. Queen Margaret, acting on her husband’s behalf, rewarded Ariadne with fifty ducato in gold, a box of jewelry personally selected by Margaret, and the Heart of the Deep Blue Sea. Ariadne tried to refuse the Heart, but Queen Margaret insisted, advising Ariadne to protect the jewel by prompting others coveting it to a standoff. Ariadne then asked the Queen to write a reciept that claimed that the gold awarded to her was donated to Ramboiullet Shelter in her name and to send someone deliver to her bedroom a safe to place the gold in to keep it to herself. Not only did this keep her family from scheming to steal it, the delivery of the safe to the De Mare household prompted the Cardinal De Mare to claim his son Ippolito’s bedroom as Ariadne’s to avoid looking bad in front of the royal servant. Ariadne happily moved into her new bedroom with her safe.

Despite being fond of Ariadne, Margaret was wary of her son’s growing attachment to her, as Ariadne, the illegitimate daughter of the Cardinal, was considered unfit to become Queen, and Alfonso’s obvious fondness for her would mean that any suitors would be put off, and Ariadne would miss her chance to get married. She told Alfonso this after telling him the news that Princess Lariessa De Balloa of Gallico had offered herself in marriage to him and would be visiting, and that for Ariadne’s sake, he should distance himself from her.

Despite Alfonso’s attempts to bond with his Gallican bride, his heart still yearned for Ariadne. Leo blamed his wife for Alfonso’s lack of reception to Lariessa. When Alfonso confided in his mother his troubles, she urged him to proceed with the marriage anyway, reminding him of Lariessa’s promising dowries and the benefits it would have for the Estrucan Kingdom. She recounted him the story of her own lost love, and how she learned that she must proceed with her God-given duty as a princess, and eventually a Queen. She stringly advises Alfonso to priceed with his God-given duty as Crown Prince.

Later on, Alfonso confrients his morher, presenting an argument as to why he cannot marry Grand Duchess Lariessa. He states that marrying the duchess and receiving her dowry would make their kingdom dependent on Gallico, since the gunpowder from her dowry would only last so long, and they would inevitably require more soon enough. Margaret correctly deduced that Alfonso’s argument stemmed from his love for Ariadne and desire to marry her. In an attempt to compromise, she suggested that Alfonso make Ariadne his mistress instead.

## Relationships

### Romantic

When she was a princess of the Gallico kingdom, Margaret was in love with a friar. When her marriage to King Leo of the Etrsucan Kingdom was arranged, she begged the friar to elope with her. But the friar refused, telling Margaret that he had to carry out his duty to God, and that she must do the same by marrying the King.

### Familial

#### King Leo III

Margaret’s marriage to the King was arranged. At the time of their engagement, Margaret was in love with someone else, and even considered eloping with the other man, a friar. But she was convinced to carry out her royal duty and marry Leo. Her marriage is shown to be an unhappy one, as he is constantly belittling and criticizing her.

#### Prince Alfonso

Margaret adores her son, doting on him since birth. As he grows into a fine young prince, she is strict but fair with him, advising him to stay away from Ariadne as to not unintentionally ruin her chances of getting married, knowing that he is fond of her but has little chance of marrying her. When he expresses doubts about marrying Grand Duchess Lariessa De Balloa, she tries to gently urge him to proceed with the arrangement, reminding him of his princely duties.

#### Count Cesare De Como

Cesare is the illegitimate son of Margaret’s husband through his mistress, Countess Rubina. Despite this, she once had a good relationship with him when he was younger, even bringing him snacks and kindness, to the point where he her to his own mother. However, their relationship drastically changed when Alfonso was born, with Margaret becoming cold and distant to Cesare, glaring at him after he is slapped and reprimanded by Leo, because he interrupted a moment with her infant child.

### Friendships

#### Ariadne De Mare

She is shown to be fond of Ariadne for her devotion to the faith and her wisdom, and sees herself in Ariadne. However, despite the fondness for her, Margarets understands that an illegitimate daughter of the Cardinal has almost no chance of marrying her son, the Crown Prince, and that Alfonso’s obvious attachment to her would intimidate potential suitors. Thus, she warned Alfonso of this, not wanting him to unintentionally risk Ariadne’s future.

### Enemies

#### Countess Rubina De Como

Countess Rubina is the mistress of Margaret’s husband, who actually birthed him a son before Margaret did, even if his illegitimate birth meant he was not in line for throne like Margaret’s son Alfonso. In Ariadne’s first timeline, Rubina poisoned Queen Margaret and kill her, which led to the dissolution of the marriage negotiations between Alfonso and Princess Lariessa.