Queen Brahne's Husband

[Busta]

Now I know SPOILER ALERT --------------------> Garnet is not really Brahne's daughter...

So does it say what really happened to Queen Brahne's husband? I was thinking that they mentioned he died...somehow.

I have no idea if it was poison, in battle, came down with typhoid fever, or drown in the castle pool. I for some odd reason thought it was referenced to by Steiner, but for the life of me can't remember.

Heck, maybe it was never mentioned and our imaginations have to fill that blank. Any idea how it happened, or what do you think did happen if it's left open to interpretation?

 

[Mitsuki]

All I know is that he died and that was the reason for Queen Brahne's changes. I'm sure if there were any details of his death, it would be mentioned online somewhere, but I can't find anything about it.

 

[charliepanayi]

Yeah the reason is never mentioned, though my guess is it's likely to be illness or an accident.

 

[Dionysos]

Very interesting question. We are told nothing about him at all really .

Queen Brahne was supposed to have been more peaceful and was even quite popular and respected before her husband died, but then after his death she became the queen that we see in the game itself (a sort of parody of a Queen Elizabeth I becoming like Lewis Carroll's Queen of Hearts). I think it is implied that she was manipulated by Kuja soon afterwards, and perhaps her grief following her husband's death left her more open to control and manipulation.

One other thing to consider.... Would her husband have been a king? Was Brahne the queen because she was the wife of the king? Or was Brahne always the reigning monarch, and so her husband was the equivalent of Prince Phillip (being the consort of the monarch, but not being able to be referred to as a king as that would suggest that he was the reigning monarch, traditionally speaking)? I'm not sure if that is mentioned.

There is a painting of Brahne in the hallway of Alexandria Castle. In it Queen Brahne is hugging what looks like a bunny.

This has always fascinated me. Where is her husband? Was this her husband?! That would certainly explain why they had to adopt Garnet!

Or was this painted after her madness started, and she's just grabbed a rabbit to pose with? It might strike me as odd if it wasn't after her madness, as you'd expect some paintings of her husband to be about the place. I don't recall seeing any. This is the only portrait I'm familiar with.

Perhaps when she went mad she started to see an imaginary pet rabbit, or had an actual rabbit companion as a sort of comfort companion to fill the gap. There certainly is something very Harvey'ish about that painting.

Maybe it is a reflection of her mental illness (or perceived), and may also be drawing out further Lewis Carroll associations.

Which leads me to consider that portraits of her husband must have been destroyed or placed into storage after his death. Perhaps she forgot about him entirely, and was consumed and driven by her insanity more than her grief.

 

[Ed Elric]

That is a rather puzzling question

Like as mentioned above, he did pass away...

Maybe because they didn't seem it to be that important and that's why they never released further information on his death.

Although now that I think about it, it adds to my curiosity because I would like to know what drove Brahne to her power hunger madness. Garnet does mention as well that when Kuja visited the Alexandria Castle with his black mages that lead her to her blood thirst for control.

 

[Mitsuki]

Although now that I think about it, it adds to my curiosity because I would like to know what drove Brahne to her power hunger madness. Garnet does mention as well that when Kuja visited the Alexandria Castle with his black mages that lead her to her blood thirst for control.

Kuja did push her into it too, manipulating her to wage war against other countries. But the death of her husband was what initiated her bitterness.

Seeing the name 'Queen Brahne' brings back memories when one of the ex-admin changed my username here to Queen Brahne and I had to act her part in the shoutbox. How bitter I felt that day.

 

[CassinoChips]

One other thing to consider.... Would her husband have been a king? Was Brahne the queen because she was the wife of the king? Or was Brahne always the reigning monarch, and so her husband was the equivalent of Prince Phillip (being the consort of the monarch, but not being able to be referred to as a king as that would suggest that he was the reigning monarch, traditionally speaking)? I'm not sure if that is mentioned.

Considering that Brahne is XVI and Garnet is XVII, I think the implication is that the Queen is the reigning monarch. Circumstantially, the female knights led by Beatrix are superior to the Knights of Pluto, so that would also suggest that Alexandria is matriarchal.

 

[iSmiff]

Or that Steiner is a fat slob and Beatrix is a good commander and general

 

[CassinoChips]

Or that Steiner is a fat slob and Beatrix is a good commander and general

Lol. Beatrix is a badass for sure. But the Knights of Pluto are the only male soldiers in the whole city (that I can recall anyway), so I think runs a little deeper than that.

 

[Dionysos]

Considering that Brahne is XVI and Garnet is XVII, I think the implication is that the Queen is the reigning monarch. Circumstantially, the female knights led by Beatrix are superior to the Knights of Pluto, so that would also suggest that Alexandria is matriarchal.

I hadn't thought about it much (as I idly played through the game in my youth), but you are right. Alexandria does seem to be a matriarchal society.

How much of this is due to the changes initiated since Brahne went crazy may be uncertain (note to people who are about to spit fury at their keyboards, I mean not to associate a matriarchal society with madness - I only wonder how much things changed since Brahne's unnamed husband died). It might be that the Queen saw Beatrix's value and allowed her to pick the best soldiers for the Alexandrian army (which happen to be female, because Beatrix and co appear to be modeled loosely on valkyries and amazons, etc). Or, it might be that Alexandria has always preferred female soldiers.

The men in Alexandrian military units seem to be incompetent buffoons. Steiner is the exaggerated example but the other Pluto Knights under his command are also quite idiotic. I think that these were also a very select group. There were 9 of them I believe (possibly a reference to where this game comes in the ordering of the series - they like to add these references here and there - but also possibly referring to heavenly bodies too in that Pluto at the time that the game was released was still considered to be the 9th planet in our solar system). This group are used for comic relief above anything else.

It is really interesting that the main bulk (at least?) of the Alexandrian army which is seen in the game consists of women. I'll have to check the game again to see if they all use the same model as well.

I'm not sure about what these reign numbers mean though. Since Brahne is the 16th and Garnet is / would be the 17th it might be that the number builds up with each generation for Alexandrian monarchs (rather than counting the number of monarchs with a particular name). Unless there really had been 15 other Queen Brahnes and 16 Queen Garnets in Alexandria's history. I'm not sure how far back Alexandria is supposed to have gone. It might be that they didn't give much thought to these numbers when designing the names for Brahne and Garnet, but just wanted a relatively high number reminiscent of some European monarchs who tended to take the same names (almost ridiculously so) generation after generation for a long, long time.

It might be possible that Alexandria had kings in the past but that queens were also acceptable. Having said that I don't know if there are any references to Brahne as being anything but the reigning monarch, as even when her husband was alive I think the implications are that she reigned peacefully, etc, rather than her husband or with her husband.

It is also very possible that they didn't think it through. They probably created Brahne's character following the mad-queen archetype, and then after that decided that they needed a backstory to explain her cruelty.

 

[Starships]

I always assumed that he looked exactly like a male Garnet, not Dagger- Garnet that we all know and love, the Garnet that died and was replaced with Dagger- Garnet, and the game makes it clear that original Garnet and Dagger looked exactly alike, minus Dagger's summon horn, hence why the king had it removed.

Why the king died is a mystery, though it sounds like there was some sort of disease around ?

The painting with Brahne with a rabbit has always made me curious too, though I just assumed that it was a beloved pet that she had, and Kuja created Zorn and Thorn for her to gain her trust. Like hey, oh sorry you lost your pet and husband so recently, I cannot replace them both, but here's some cute jesters, trust me so I can use and abuse you pls !

 

[Dionysos]

I always assumed that he looked exactly like a male Garnet, not Dagger- Garnet that we all know and love, the Garnet that died and was replaced with Dagger- Garnet, and the game makes it clear that original Garnet and Dagger looked exactly alike, minus Dagger's summon horn, hence why the king had it removed.

Why the king died is a mystery, though it sounds like there was some sort of disease around ?

The painting with Brahne with a rabbit has always made me curious too, though I just assumed that it was a beloved pet that she had, and Kuja created Zorn and Thorn for her to gain her trust. Like hey, oh sorry you lost your pet and husband so recently, I cannot replace them both, but here's some cute jesters, trust me so I can use and abuse you pls !

I'd forgotten that Sarah (our Garnet / Dagger-Garnet) was adopted because she resembled the deceased true-Garnet. This is interesting in its own right as we are once again forced to imagine how a giant blue-skinned, boob-eyed parody of a mad villainess could birth a girl who was described as looking exactly like the Garnet that we know. Is Brahne even human? Perhaps the make-up that she wears hides her true self and doesn't do her humanity any justice. Or maybe true-Garnet inherited much of her appearance from her father, but that is a challenging thing to imagine.

I don't remember there being a mention of a disease. Is there anything in particular that leads you to suggest that?

The more I think about that rabbit, the more curious I become. It does seem to reflect on Brahne's developing insanity, I think. The king died and Brahne became fond of a pet rabbit as a replacement companion. Gone are the official paintings which must previously have existed of the queen with her king or consort, but now we only have this eerie painting of the queen and a rabbit... And this painting is in the castle's grand staircase where I can imagine a lot of official visitors would be welcomed, perhaps making a lasting impression on them.

Kuja sending jesters to comfort her and manipulate her was a fairly logical tactic in this context. Brahne's household couldn't get any madder than it was, and so she'd probably welcome such eccentric servants as Zorn and Thorn.

 

[Starships]

I'd forgotten that Sarah (our Garnet / Dagger-Garnet) was adopted because she resembled the deceased true-Garnet. This is interesting in its own right as we are once again forced to imagine how a giant blue-skinned, boob-eyed parody of a mad villainess could birth a girl who was described as looking exactly like the Garnet that we know. Is Brahne even human? Perhaps the make-up that she wears hides her true self and doesn't do her humanity any justice. Or maybe true-Garnet inherited much of her appearance from her father, but that is a challenging thing to imagine.

Not really ? Brahne is quite ugly, though Dr Tot mentions before her madness and insanity she was quite kind-hearted. Her husband would only need to see the beauty that was inside her to develop romantic feelings for her. Brahne being human but using make-up to give a more monster like appearance is a solid theory. We don't see any more Brahne's throughout the game, while we see plenty of the other races throughout the game. Perhaps she was just a chubby girl and when she lost grip of any sanity, her fashion, dressing and appearance slipped. The dominant race in Alexandria is human females.

I don't remember there being a mention of a disease. Is there anything in particular that leads you to suggest that?

Two royals [ true Garnet and the king ] dying pretty close to each other. I don't assume that Kuja poisoned him, because he clearly found a weak- link with Brahne at the death of her hubby.

The more I think about that rabbit, the more curious I become. It does seem to reflect on Brahne's developing insanity, I think. The king died and Brahne became fond of a pet rabbit as a replacement companion. Gone are the official paintings which must previously have existed of the queen with her king or consort, but now we only have this eerie painting of the queen and a rabbit... And this painting is in the castle's grand staircase where I can imagine a lot of official visitors would be welcomed, perhaps making a lasting impression on them.

Well, we never see rabbits in the game, so maybe it is to symbolize her madness.

Your theory on this is amazing !

Kuja sending jesters to comfort her and manipulate her was a fairly logical tactic in this context. Brahne's household couldn't get any madder than it was, and so she'd probably welcome such eccentric servants as Zorn and Thorn.

Yup Yup.

I'm also guessing that it was Kuja who gave out the fireworks to start at the beginning of ' I Want To Be Your Canary ' as well.