Elayne, is she really going to be Queen at all?

[VampireGoat]

Right after stopping myself waffling about this in another unrelated thread thought I'd kick the question off here properly

 

Is Elayne really a queen? Andor she has right to yes, but as Aes Sedia she has to answer to a higher power

in all things, hence the excitement at an AS queen since it puts Andor in the hands of the AS especialy the amyrilin. Then we head over to Cairhien where she is yet to be crownd queen but we know its coming. Now we know Rand was proctecting Andor for her so he withdrew but Cairhien is a different matter. She'll sit on the throne but is he really going to just say yes ok dont acknowledge me at all? And if he does? won't that just drop Cairhien straight in the AS's lap as well?

 

Considering these things does she/will she actually rule anything at all?

 

She insists she has to be seen as an independant queen yet at the same time is begging to belong to another organisation who's orders she can't deny and drags the other challanger to her control to bed when nobody is looking.

 

Does Elayne have some form of independance that I have overlooked or is this another crisis in elayne logic department(which lets be fair is serverly broken)?

[Ko´bal]

I think that Elayne will be queen and that she will stay on the thrones until her children has come off age. Then that her daughter will rule Andor and the son Cairhien. After that she can continue to be Aes Sedai only. It´s a clear possibility the way I see it...

 

/ K

[DemandredFO]

Elayne will be queen for a long time, I think.  Her daughter most likely will be Aes Sedai and her son most likely be an Asha'Man.  I think Elayne will be independent, Egwene is a bully but I think Elayne has grown enough to be free of hen, same with Nyneave.  Besides, I think Egwene will have enough trouble for many years after Tarmon Gai'don to try bullying elayne.

[RobertAlexWillis]

Elayne can afford to be both Aes Sedai and Queen of Andor because she stands high enough in herself, as Aes Sedai, that there aren't many people who can give her orders, and most of those are her friends, including Egwene al'Vere.

 

Elayne may not be everyone's favorite, but she is relatively astute, politically.  She can balance the two.  Over time, I imagine, she will be much more Queen of Andor (whatever form that nation finally takes) than Aes Sedai.

[Guest silver89]

If I remember correctly in her POV she always identifys herself as the Daughter Heir/Queen of Andor and then as Aes Sedai. Elayne was raised knowing that she was going to rule a people and I dare say she will make a good one,(after a few stumbles of course).

 

She will always do what is best for her people, well at least what she thinks is best. When she gets an order from an Aes Sedai higher than herself, she will follow only if it isn't detrimental to Andor. I

If it is she will refuse and be damned to the consequences.

 

[Angel of Death]

I personally think Elayne will rule (or at least want to), for over 300years. Believing its her right all along.

[Guest silver89]

Only an insane person would want to rule a post TG country for more than a normal span of time. Think about it. The biggest battle in recent memory is going to decimate a country's population, more work for everyone. Diseases and epidemics are common after war, dead bodies left unburied due to a lack of people to do it. Famine will also be a problem. Armies eat ALOT and with all the dead there's going to be less people growing and harvesting crops.

 

I certainly wouldn't want to rule a land that is recovering from a war. Imagine the headaches that trying to solve those problems would cause. :)

[Ko´bal]

And if you think of it, just how likely is it that the nations will last after TG? If you look at all other uppheavals like trollock war and war of the hundred no nation came out of it so why should there be any difference now? Because of Elayne who has a strong will and the right to two thrones she is likely to build a new nation around the Erinin. With the loss of human lives it´s hightly unlikely that she can hold on to the whole of Andor, but probably she will create one of few strong nations post-TG. That´s what I think at least...

[Child of Lir]

It is interesting to note that some are adamant that Elayne will be Queen of Cairhien as well as Andor.

 

Yes, she has some claim to the Cairhienin throne in her own right, but have seen no evidence of her even considering pursuing that claim. She has her hands full consolidating Andor and with Tarmon Gai'don on the horizon - and likely an enormous battle at Caemlyn (Camlaan, site of Arthur Pendragon's last battle) - she doesn't have the time or resources to give to pursuing that claim in the immediate future.

 

Of course, Rand has plans to put her on that throne, but we know that people's plans have a habit of coming to naught when they fail to consider all other factors, so we shall see.

 

Elayne's two brothers also have a claim to the Cairhienin throne, but only Galad bears the name Damodred and for nobles, where house, name and blood are everything, I think this would put him in greater standing in Cairhienin eyes than it would Elayne. How likely are the Cairhienin to accept a foreign queen over them? They only accept Rand's rule through fear, and Colaevere was certainly ambitious enough to take her chance once he was absent.

 

Marry Galad to Berelain, and you tie Mayene to Cairhien. Galad's cousin Caraline is due to become Queen of Tear, thus tying Cairhien to Tear. Of course she's Elayne and Gawyn's cousin too, but the link of the name is important in nobles' eyes. Bear in mind also that Elayne and Gawyn are Trakands through and through; they have shown no interest in their Damodred side. Whether Galad does or not remains to be seen.

 

Of course, we can ask how could being King of Cairhien marry with being Lord Captain Commander of the Children of the Light? As easily as being Queen of Andor can marry with being an Aes Sedai?

 

Yes, Elayne will be crowned Queen of Andor, but as for Cairhien, that remains to be seen. And of course, we still have Moiraine's claim, should she ever change her mind about that. Who knows what months of having nothing to do but think have resulted in for her? And who knows who will remain alive after Tarmon Gai'don?