#manderly

Helaena Targaryen (Aegon II)

Helaena is the definition of a gentle consort who could have been effective in peacetime, but not in the way people usually measure “power.” She’s not a political operator. She’s not a court predator. She’s soft-spoken, inward, and (in the book) her “small council presence” reads more like someone included out of duty than someone steering the ship. But in a stable realm, a queen like Helaena becomes a symbol: piety, motherhood, calm domestic authority, visible charity. The kind of queen the smallfolk cling to because she looks like safety.

If peace had held, I believe her rule would’ve looked like quiet patronage, charitable works, soothing public appearances, and a court that’s less vicious because she’s not feeding it. She would not have been a “policy queen.” She would’ve been a moral center. Blood & Cheese shatters that almost immediately, which is why we never get to see what her presence could’ve done long-term.

Baela Targaryen (Jacaerys)

Baela as queen consort would’ve been a force of nature. She’s bold, hot-blooded, dragonrider confidence, and she has that Daemon-made edge where she doesn’t shrink to make men comfortable. In peacetime, that can go two ways in my opinion:

Excellent: she becomes a public-facing, charismatic queen who rallies loyalty, sponsors martial culture, pushes reforms around training, fleet strength, and court discipline. The realm respects her because she looks like steel and doesn’t flinch.

Disastrous: she starts feuding with half the court because she refuses to play “smile and swallow it” politics, and she makes enemies without meaning to.

With Jace specifically, I think it leans more “excellent.” Jace reads more diplomatic and state-minded, and Baela would’ve been the aggressive counterbalance: the queen who scares your enemies and energizes your allies. In peace, her “rule” would look like patronage of knights, dragonkeeper culture, naval strength, and a court with less tolerated nonsense. She would not be a decorative consort. She would be a partner.

Manderly girl (Joffrey Velaryon)

This one is interesting because it’s purely political architecture.

We don’t know her personality, so I’m judging by what the marriage means. It would drag a Northern house deeper into Targaryen legitimacy, which is exactly what Rhaenyra’s faction needed in peace. As queen consort she’d likely resemble the “traditional” model: household competence, alliances, soft power through family networks, plus Northern cultural gravity that can actually stabilize a court if handled well.

Her “rule in peace” would look like quiet influence, marriage politics, rewarding loyal houses, probably a more sober court tone. Not flashy. Useful.

Unnamed Baratheon daughter (Aemond)

What kind of queen consort is she? Stormlander. Practical. Proud. Built for power-brokering. Aemond as king in peacetime is the problem, not the consort. He’s intense, controlling, and the kind of ruler who would “keep the peace” by making everyone terrified to breathe wrong. A Baratheon consort could either:

soften him socially and protect the realm from his worst impulses by being a stabilizing presence at court, or

amplify the hard-line culture and turn the crown into a militarized regime.

Given Storm’s End politics, she likely would’ve been politically competent in the “I understand loyalty and consequences” way. But her ability to shape Aemond depends on whether she has real emotional leverage over him, and he doesn’t read like a man who offers that easily.

In peace: she’s probably a strong court manager and alliance builder. In reality: she’d be spending her life trying to keep Aemond from turning every slight into a war.

Cassandra Baratheon (Aegon II)

Cassandra is the most “what could’ve been” in a grim way, because she’s explicitly lined up as Aegon’s next wife once he’s widowed and desperate for sons.

In peace, Cassandra would likely be a classic political consort. Fertile, respectable, backed by Stormlander muscle, and able to bring a fresh public narrative after the realm’s trauma. She’s not there to be loved. She’s there to restore continuity. If Aegon II had been a normal functioning king, she could’ve played the role of image repair, court unity, charitable works, and producing heirs to lock the line.

But the catch is Aegon. Cassandra could be perfectly capable and still end up trapped married to a king who is unstable, bitter, and self-destructive. Her “peace rule” depends on whether the king allows the court to actually become peaceful.

Jaehaera Targaryen (Aegon III)

Jaehaera is heartbreaking because she’s the ultimate symbol of “the war ate everyone,” and her potential gets crushed by the same machinery that used her as a political bandage. In peacetime, with time and safety and support, she might have become a quiet, dutiful consort, probably similar in function to Helaena: public piety, charity, household calm.

But even under peace, Aegon III is not an easy husband for “traditional consort influence.” He’s traumatized, withdrawn, and resistant to court life. A queen like Jaehaera would either become his shelter, or she’d disappear beside him like a ghost.

Her “rule in peace” would probably be minimal public ambition, high ceremonial value, and a court that runs around her rather than through her. And because she dies young, we’ll never know what she could’ve grown into.