Origin Story Of The Evil Queen (From Snow White)

The Evil Queen, known as Princess Anne at the time, hated mirrors as a child. She hated the constant reminder of her “ugly face” every time she would pass by the large, round, mirror in her room. Anne was not ugly though. She was so beautiful that her mother, Queen Petra, was jealous of her beauty. Her mother would look at her in disgust, always saying she was disappointed that she ended up having such an ugly daughter. Whenever Princess Anne’s maids and butlers complimented her, she always thought they were lying just to make her feel better. They probably laugh at how ugly I am behind my back… Why can’t they just be honest, like my mom? She thought.

Her mother was always busy in her room, trying different hairstyles and different makeup to make her look prettier. She rarely went out to spend time with her daughter. So the princess would sneak out of the castle and explore the kingdom. Princess Anne liked being outside, but she never liked showing her face. She had a brown cloak over her head and a red wool scarf that only left her eyes visible to the outside world. Anne was drawn to the flower shop, with the bright colors and lovely fragrances. That’s when she met him. 

He was your typical Prince Charming, square jaw, straight white teeth, and girls swooning when he passed by. He was Prince David, from one of the bordering kingdoms. Anne had seen many princes lately since she was at the age to be wed to one of them. She hated that. They were all the same. His eyes landed on the princess and she quickly turned away. When David continued riding in his carriage, she saw he was headed to her castle. She’d have to return home, in case they were going to look for her. Princess Anne stole one more glance at the flowers on display, hoping she might be able to return later that day.

She ran back to the castle and tiptoed to her tower when she overheard her mother speaking to the prince she saw earlier. 

“Why have you come here?” her mother glared at him.

“I have come to ask for the hand of your daughter.” Prince David explained.

When he said that, the mother cackled. It took a minute or two to get her settled down again. She then cleared her throat.

“My daughter? Of all people? Have you seen her? She’s ugly! I recommend you go to another kingdom, you’ll find a much more suitable wife for you anywhere but here.”

“Even if she may be ugly to you, I’m sure she’s a lovely girl. May I ask to see her?”

The princess widened her eyes at the sound of this. She was filled with fear. Princess Anne could not show her face to the prince, even if he’s just like all the others. He’d probably laugh at her, or look at her in disgust.

“Fine. You may see her. Julia, go up to her room and bring my daughter back here.”

“Yes, Your Highness.'' The maid power walked out of the throne room, occasionally tripping over her dress as she went.

Anne ran up the stairs and into her room, pretending to read one of the books on her desk made of gold. The maid gently knocked on the door before slowly opening it.

“Excuse me, Miss Anne. Your mother would like to see you. There’s a prince she’d like you to meet.” the maid explained.

“Alrighty then, Miss Julia. I’ll be right there.” Princess Anne smiled widely, hiding the fact that she was worried about meeting the prince.

The maid left and the princess followed behind down the stairs. She anticipated what was going to happen: the prince would take one look at her and shake his head, returning to his carriage and going to another kingdom to find a much prettier princess than she.

Princess Anne went into the throne room and saw him. His features were much more detailed in the bright room, filled with chandeliers. He had chocolate brown hair that looked very soft, and gray almond-shaped eyes that softened when he looked at her. Was he pitying her for looking this way? Prince David quickly looked at her up and down for a second, although it wasn’t very subtle, and smiled.

“Ah, so you must be Princess Anne. I must say, you don’t exactly fit the description that your mother gave me at all. You’re very beautiful.” he exclaimed.

“Oh, uh, thank you. You look nice as well,” she said while hiding behind the maid.

“Now, may I take your hand in marriage so that we may unite the two kingdoms together?”

“Wait wait wait. You’re asking me to marry you when I barely know you and you’re ok with that?”

“Well, that’s what I was told to do. We could always postpone the marriage later if you want.” he shrugged.

“Hold on a second! YOU! I told you already, my daughter is ugly. Not. Attractive. At. All. Can’t you see?? So why don’t you just leave and find another princess to marry?” the queen yelled.

Princess Anne’s eyes filled with tears. She knows her mother was being honest, but it seemed like she was being a bit mean when she said that. The prince turned to see her saddened face.

She looked up and ran away, quietly crying and whimpering as she went. The princess turned her silent crying into an art because her mother would always laugh and smile darkly, getting pleasure from seeing her beautiful daughter crumble into an ugly crying mess. But Anne didn’t know that the mother was jealous, she thought that she was just being honest, and had a weird way of dealing with crying children. She ran through the green fields, dotted with flowers here and there. No one ever came here since they all had things to do; they all had little businesses to run---it was always money, money, money.

The girl sat cross-legged in the grass, using her puffy velvety dress as a cushion. She scanned the area to find her favorite flower, a lonesome, little red peony. Anne gently touched a petal and sighed. You’re lucky, little one. To be so beautiful and to have such a simple life. The princess thought. She heard the sound of leaves crunching behind her. It was Prince David, who sat down beside Anne.

“Hey, I know people say that you should always listen to your mother, but I think this is an exception. You’re not ugly. You never were.” he smiled while putting a hand on her shoulder.

“So all this time, my mother was lying about me being ugly..?”

“Yep. And all those people that said you’re beautiful were telling the truth.”

Princess Anne wiped her tears and hugged him. Perhaps he isn’t like all the other princes. She thought.

“Thank you for opening my eyes,” she whispered.

Ever since that awakening, she took pride in her looks and met up with the prince in that same spot very often. She never felt ugly when she was with him. The girl became more open to the world--- she didn’t need to hide her face anymore. 

Many years later, the two had a daughter, which they named Snow White. Princess Anne, who was now Queen Anne, was overjoyed. But her mother was not. She was furious when she heard the news. When Anne was married, she went to her husband’s kingdom, and Queen Petra was all alone. She had no daughter to laugh at and cause suffering upon, but she had a plan. Lately, she had been trying spells and potions to try and make herself more beautiful than her daughter. But now, she decided to get her revenge. If she weren’t able to be happy with herself, she would take away the one person who made her daughter feel beautiful: her husband.

One day, Queen Petra visited the kingdom of Queen Anne and King David. She hated to see her daughter happy. When Anne was busy taking care of Snow White, she cast a spell to trap King David in her mirror, the one that was once in her bedroom back at the kingdom. The king would be immortal while in the mirror, watching his daughter grow up, but unable to make memories with her.

Queen Anne returned with her child and saw what happened. She kicked her mother out of the kingdom and wept. As time went by, time began repeating itself. Queen Anne began to hate her daughter, for being a constant reminder of why she could not be with her husband. She cried every day, causing her beauty to slowly wilt. The queen had noticed as well. She constantly asked her husband if she was still the most beautiful of them all. King David would always say yes. But after he saw that his wife was being unkind to their daughter, he would say that Snow White was the most beautiful. His wife was now both ugly on the inside and the outside. She hated herself, as well as her daughter, for looking just like her, and for taking away her happiness, her husband. And so, that was the beginning of the reign of the Evil Queen.