There are NO GOOD MOTHERS in Bridgerton | The Fallibility of the Mamas of the Ton [CC]

[@FishareFriendsNotFood972]

Queen Charlotte is the polar opposite of Portia to me. Charlotte is harsh because she does not truly care about protecting her children, she sees children as the sacrifice she made so she could live her life with her husband, Portia is harsh because she cares so much about protecting her children (and sometimes overshoots the mark) and she sees her husband as the sacrifice she made so she can live her life with her children.

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

Yes and yes!!!!!

[@KoraTchiteya]

One thing I noticed about lady Danbury was that because she didn’t love and was forced into marrying her husband she was unable and unwilling to love her children so much that she kept herself away from them as much as possible it showed a different perspective because unlike all the other mothers she did put her own security and personal interests first

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

Oh that's a great observation and it does contrast well with how different and how more visibly involved she was with raising Simon.

[@KoraTchiteya]

@@ChroniclesofNoria yes and it would be a nice build up for Gareth storyline if they get there in the show.

[@OcarinaSapphr-]

And unlike with the present generation, she never even got the _option_ of a choice- even in the limitations of an annual aristocratic & gentry 'marriage mart' (as Byron called the Season) - because she was betrothed at **3 years old** . There was a legal minimum for marriage, historically- but *not* for betrothal; if a person's been conditioned to accept a marriage from their early years- whether or not they actually want it, I could understand why there might be an emotional disconnect from the results of said marriage...

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

@OcarinaSapphr- oh very true!!!!!

[@nityasg2260]

​​​@@ChroniclesofNoria I think it's possible she was just as involved with her son too during his early childhood , especially when they were just starting to get advantages & were afraid to lose it . But as soon as they were grown ups she was more than happy to be empty nester & wanted them to stay away . Which is kinda understandable because she has been living for her husband since she was 3 years old .

[@simonakatsman974]

My biggest gripe with Violet will always be that she failed to prepare any of her kids for the marriage mart or for when they actually did get married. Yes love is nice, but to let Daphne get married without knowing was sex was? Seriously? That was 100% her job and she failed to communicate with her daughter the most basic tenets of marriage in the Ton. Not to mention how little attention she paid to Daphne during both of her courtships and let her run off. Violet was so blinded by Edmund that she failed to take her kids *as they were* into account. She seriously lacks empathy and if she was less well meaning there would have been very different consequences.

[@KoraTchiteya]

I think that for Colin his issue that could have been caused by the death of their father is him trying to keep everyone’s energy high causing him to push in more into this light hearted persona also close to Daphne not wanting to be a problem child

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

Oooooh. That makes so much sense and is spot on!

[@KoraTchiteya]

@@ChroniclesofNoria that’s the feeling he’s giving me and it explains his strong desire to to be needed and taken seriously. Feeling like he has to be loved by everyone so no one ever leaves him.

[@niyaakbar1098]

I’ve always like the mothers way more than their kids. They’re just much more interesting and complex

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

They really are fascinating. I totally wouldn't mind a spinoff of the show that provides more insight into their story. I want to learn everything about them. Where are they coming from? How did they get to where they are now? What kind of childhood did they have? What events in their lives made them the women they are today? I want to know everything. Lol!!

[@remstew7517]

13:16 this was a good apology from Mary to Kate in which she also acknowledged Kate’s grief for her birth mother

[@Moonpie90]

Portia is 100% a worse mother than Violet. The level of attention she gave her daughters was directly related to the value they could provide her at any moment. Violets attention was far more equally divided based on the needs of her children and she has double the volume. She discoraged Pen's interests (reading and writing) and ignored her so completely that she could dissappear for hours at a time several times a week (again because Pen had lower value than her sisters and the rest of the ton). Violet sees everything and if she has multiple girls to watch ensures one of the older boys is watching. Both are just flawed humans but at least Violets flaws come from love not regency girlbossing

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

I don't know if I would necessarily agree that Violet sees everything. She sees the things her kids let her see, and that is the experience of parents everywhere. She had no idea about what was really going on with Daphne and Simon. She had no idea what was really going on with Anthony, the trauma he was processing at his father's passing and his interaction and relationship with Kate and Edwina. She has no idea of what Eloise truly wants or is thinking. She barely speaks to Benedict. Colin she's able to immediately clock because even from season 1, we can see that she's closest to him. She doesn't recognize what Fran wants in a partner and basically tries to force her version of love on her daughter. And Hyacinth and Gregory are shown as being much closer to their siblings than they are to her.

[@Amber86queenbee]

@@ChroniclesofNoria love this insight and agree 💯 on this particularly with how much closer Violet is to Colin and their relationship in comparison to the other Bridgertons. I have to admit I am personally disappointed with Violet as she is framed like a great mother by the show and yet lacks the insight into the needs of her kids.

[@reccyre]

Portia loves her daughters conditionally. It's no surprise she started being close to Penelope when she found out a titled man was interested in her.

[@simonakatsman974]

Violet spent all of season 2 trying to marry off her 2nd daughter but somehow never realized that that same daughter kept running off with the carriage? Or that Eloise was spending time outside of Mayfair? I'm going to go even as far as saying that Violet was partially responsible for Eloise getting ruined. She's a really bad chaperone. And then there's the dowry business. How did she never consider that when looking at Edwina? Why was she so surprised, and horrified by the idea that the Sheffields were willing to provide a dowry on the condition that Edwina married well? Or that Edwina did in fact want the title as well as Anthony himself? Like on what planet is she living on? After all, Edwina was participating on the marriage mart- just like Eloise! Violet lets her privilege blind her in so many ways and she's by far my least favorite, followed closely by Mary.

[@Ancient_Regime88]

Says your not a psychologist then pulls out completely relevant psychology science articles 😂😂 Props for being able to utilize such sources! Love the work, great job!

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

😂😂. And thank you!! 😊. Glad you enjoyed the video

[@lauramathews3151]

I think that is part of the genius of the show. They are all flawed. All in different ways. The truth is even excellent and exceptional mothers are not perfect. But I LOVE that Violet and Portia are foils. And Mari is a character I wish we had more of bc I love her. And Charlotte and Agatha were compelling and heartbreaking. But I felt like Agatha was the mother figure with Simon she had wanted to be but failed woth her own Children. Also I LOVE Alice Mondrich and wish we got to see more of her in Mother mode. But I think that she's the mother character who best demonstrates that it's only one hat we wear, as people with multifaceted identities and has life beyond her motherhood role.

[@Clau-chauNicol]

Yes, and I think it's really interesting in a regency romance series to see this balancing act that these mothers have between their love lives and their children. I had a conversation with a friend of a friend about how a lot of romances tend to (maybe not so much now, but it definitely was a trope) finish with the heroine becoming pregnant as if that's the natural endpoint of a romantic relationship. I think it's interesting to have a show that makes it clear that romantic and maternal love ARE very different, and that one does not flow naturally from the other, and that they can be in conflict. The fact that unlike in a traditional romance, Bridgerton does have characters who have lived on past the archetypal pregnant heroine epilogue means it can explore that, and the fact it manages to do so without vilifying these characters (and for those who had love lives that went along the lines of a romance narrative, allowing them to continue to live in their HEA, or in the case of Violet, its afterglow) is really mature, I think.

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

Yes!!! All the mothers are flawed in different ways and are great foils to each other, and we see them trying in various ways to make up for their mistakes. It's refreshing to see actually. Alice Mondrich is definitely one of the good ones!!! But like you said, we didn't really get to see her in Mother Mode so although we can guess at what kind of mother she most likely is, we don't really get to see it fleshed out in the show so far, which is a pity.

[@Clau-chauNicol]

I've only watched half of season 3, so I don't know all of it, but on the Portia section I agree. I also want to say than it has been reading or watching any other fictional regency mama, it has felt really obvious that Portia's desire for "security" is steeped in classism. As her efforts are constantly contrasted with her daughter working, it becomes more and more obvious that she is exhausting herself conspiring and backstabbing and forcing her daughters to do what they aren't suited to in order to gain a living when, had she had less of an attitude to people who work, Pen could have come clean and they could have very easily joined forces with her to make Lady Whistledown into the force it deserves to be. Portia would be SO well suited to being a manager of some sort to a gossip magazine it isn't even funny. Like, Portia thinks she's the way she is towards others through necessity, but really its because she can only work within the bounds of her own prejudices, and this is what it reduces her to. She is also my favourite Bridgerton mama, and I'm constantly frustrated at her more than anyone else because she gets in the way of her own peace, and her daughters' peace in the process.

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

She does get in her own way a lot of times and I often find myself screaming at my television because whyyyyyyyy?????? 😭😭😭

[@Mellowdiamond_]

This is an interesting take on Portia. She is my favorite bridgerton mamam as well. I often find her etiquette entertaining and comedic at best. You mentioning that she could have formed an alliance with Pen and managed LW is truly genius and honestly I truly believe as well that they would be an unstoppable force 😂😂.

[@wolfgirl535]

Its a thing I've had to work through myself. My mother failed me in a lot of ways that I can point to. Though she didn't MEAN to fail me, she did nonetheless, and sometimes getting her to acknowledge that is just as hard as working through those issues I now have as a result.

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

Yes. It's often hard going back and processing our relationship with our parents, but specifically our mothers and in what ways they did fail us. I'm sending you all the hugs and I don't know if anyone has told you recently, but I am proud that you're investing this time into yourself and processing the trauma and the issues you are working through. Well done! ^hugs^

[@jetradaniels9528]

I missed a few moments of this, because something you said instantly transported me into introspection about myself and my child. You know it's good when it makes you think and reflect 😊

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

This totally made my day. Thank you!!!! ☺☺

[@jetradaniels9528]

@@ChroniclesofNoria thank you!! 💜💜💜

[@carolinebrooks2160]

You have the most intelligent analysis of Bridgerton that I’ve seen. Subscribed! ❤

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

Omg!!! What a nice thing to say 😭😭😭. Thank you 🥰🥰🥰

[@viktorijasarac1171]

Love your deep dive in psychology of mothers in Bridgerton. In my opinion aristocratsy and parenting are bad combinations. Portia was in my opinion most realistical mother.

[@Tina-u1l]

For real Portia featherington is the most realistic mother she knows of the world and the hellish expectations of society yes she had put tremendous pressure on her daughters but she worked hared to ensure that they had food and money for dresses and dowries for marriage she is the definition of a single hard working mother

[@viktorijasarac1171]

@@Tina-u1l I agree and I think she really loves all of her children but couldn't find right way to express her love. She reminds me of my dad he never says the right thing and sometimes it's very hurtful. I wonder if he even loves me but he is like that to everyone. he has a hard time expressing his feelings with words but he is the best hugs giver. I have a feeling that Portia was always from a lower aristocratic or same merchant family. Her husband was very bad with money so I wouldn't be surprised if he had married her for her Dowry and her family wanted a title or status. We don't know who was a previous lord and when Portia's husband inherited its property. Maybe her father in law was still alive when she was married to her husband and then the financial situation was better. I think "you know what is romantic?" "Security" (Perphresing) Speaks volumes about her and that she wants a best for her daughters. She lived her life one way but she doesn't want thet for her daughters. It would make sense if she's from lower aristocratic that she would want her daughters to do better than her.

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed the video, and I do agree that for their time and society, Portia was definitely the most realistic of the mothers. It's also why I love her so much.

[@bbytyat]

i understand them all except queen charlotte, as you mentionned in your character ranking, her being so (caricaturally!?) awful to her children was really distracting from the main plotline romance with georges 😩 like i almost don't buy how heartless she was after seing her backstory 🫢 great video btw, always love your deep dives and analyzes:)

[@SammyTeal]

It's like she spend all her love on George and didn't have more for anyone else, even her kids... It's so sad

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

Thank you ☺. But yes. Every time I rewatch Queen Charlotte, it pulls me out of the story cuz I have to take the time to yell a "you're going to be a mother quite similar to Princess Augusta, just you wait!" at my screen. Lol. Although she does fit the archetype of the mothers who exist for their husbands and ignore their kids once they are happy and in love. I wonder if it was purposeful on the part of the writers, actually.

[@maishaahmed915]

It must run in the family. Queen Victoria also loved her husband more than her children. She considered the death of a spouse more devastating than the death of a child and told that to her son when his child died.

[@bbytyat]

@@maishaahmed915 she whaaat 😭 how awful

[@Amber86queenbee]

Yet to watch in full but instantly I was wondering about where Mrs Mondrich would rank and whether we see her enough to truly get a sense of her. Viewers call them boring only because all the others are even more flawed. I personally like watching Portia though as she is interesting and more realistic for the times in wanting her girls to have security.

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

Portia is definitely one of the most realistic mamas of the lot. I didn't rank Mrs. Mondrich unfortunately because we really don't get enough time with her kids to be able to make any conclusions.

[@reading1713]

I always look forward to another deep dive video from you. They always slap and make me realise something deeply that I had not considered thoroughly. Thank you for these! Also thanks to you I am now also a Portia stan. Small note: I believe Prudence is the one that lacks the temperament to navigate society well and Philippa lacked the brains (She is the one who says inserts himself where?) .

[@Tina-u1l]

While that will never not be funny as hell 🤣🤣 it's truly sad that these girls are not educated about this they could be getting r@ped out there and not even knowing it or that they can consent to it

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

Thank you so much. That's so kind 😭😭. I'm so glad you enjoyed the video!!

[@HuntingViolets]

This is an interesting time for this to drop, with the Alice Munro revelations. I thought Mr. Sharma had only died when Kate was around 18, although I'm not sure where I got that idea. Another very interesting video!

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

I just heard about Alice on Twitter yesterday or the day before. Her poor daughter 💔. Ooh. That's interesting. I always thought Kate was much younger when their father died. She's 27 when Edwina comes out at 18, which means there's a 9 year difference, and Mary admits that Kate raised her sister basically alone. Add the fact that Anthony is 4 years older than Kate and Mary had her season around the time the other mamas did and I'd always put her age at about 14 when her dad died 🤷🏾‍♀️. Thank you so much and I'm glad you enjoyed the video ❤️❤️

[@HuntingViolets]

@@ChroniclesofNoria Well, 14, 18, still very young either way. Yes. Terrible. Everyone failed her. Mad at the biographer too, who elected not to publish about it though she wanted him to because he wasn't writing that kind of book and families have things they want to keep secret. Sigh. People are awful.

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

Just that line “families have their secrets” makes me want to scream because that’s how abuse is covered up in most families. It’s so disgusting. Urgh!!!

[@schnoomimimi]

tysm for sharing your analysis and allowing the mamas the NUANCEE they deserve, I’ve always found them to be the most interesting part of bridgerton (especiallyyyyy portia 🤭), and ur thoughts are always such a delight to hear!!

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

Right?? I love the mothers too. They have so much depth, it’s a delight to explore them ☺️

[@remstew7517]

7:28 yes but the doctor is to blame for this because the doctor kept insisting that Anthony should make the decision and Violet tried to prevent it. She knew it was not his decision to make as her child regardless of his inherited title. However, I think that the doctor wanted Anthony to intervene because Violet did not choose herself since she wanted to go be with her husband and any decision made by the viscount would override hers. The doctor’s reaction to Anthony telling him to “do whatever she wants” showed it was not the answer he was looking for. He knew his patient did not want to survive and he even replied “I’ll do my best to save them both.” Violet knew that Edmund would’ve chosen her and Anthony would’ve chosen her as well but that’s not what she wanted since Edmund was gone 8:00 was she wrong tho? Edmund is the reason her children are here and they were supposed to raise them together. I think her maternal instincts were in overdrive in that moment because she knew she needed to protect her children from seeing their father like that but she physically could not, including Anthony who was right there so she yelled at him to go - to go away and also to go and shield his siblings 8:41 it does but we see in the show how Hyacinth’s birth is marred by grief so there’s no way that they have a warm mother-daughter relationship especially given the comment Violet made to Anthony shortly after Hyacinth was born and how she’s very dear to him because he was probably afraid that their mother could harm her. Hyacinth is a smart girl who’s seemingly already somewhat caught on and she definitely would’ve observed how Violet was acting like Francesca was her last daughter in season 3 as well

[@TheEverGrowingRosey-333]

No the doctor wanted him to intervene because women were not permitted to make fully informed medical decisions for themselves. The show has well established their version of Regency era England is still highly patriarchal.

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

I think that the doctor, like the manservant were asking because Anthony as head of house now has authority and Violet unfortunately no longer has any power as she's effectively become the Dowager Viscountess, rather than the Viscountess position she used to hold. The doctor knew someone had to take responsibility and that someone was Anthony. The scene still pains me though. I actually do think she's wrong though. Because Edmund might have been the reason her kids are there, but the minute she did conceive and birth them, they became her responsibility as well. The scene we got of Anthony begging her to leave her rooms and come have dinner with her kids and her saying that she's already done enough will always sting for me. It's unfair to her that she lost her husband and had such a traumatic birth but it's also unfair to Anthony to have to be the one acting as intermediary between his siblings and their mother and having to deal with the burden of having to communicate with them that their mother is not choosing them and is still stuck in her grief. It's a painful situation all round.

[@TheEverGrowingRosey-333]

@@ChroniclesofNoria as wrong as she can be when she has no mental health services available to her. Idk how is she to make emotional energy for her children she simply doesn’t have? Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had members of my family respond similarly to grief but even worse; like emotionally leaning on their own kids/grandkids (like too much) when they’re also grieving & even emotionally abusive. Maybe because I’ve seen worse I give Violet more grace. I got the impression she was doing as much as she was capable, & we know with time she did get better. The people I knew who lost themselves in their grief never got better, I don’t think they found peace again till they too passed.

[@remstew7517]

@@ChroniclesofNoria Violet’s shift in position from viscountess to dowager viscountess must’ve added to her grief. She was no longer a wife but a widow and the loss of her husband meant the loss of their collaborative partnership. The frustration of now having to be under the leadership of a child who was clueless was demonstrated in the scene where Anthony asked her to join them for family dinner. She tells him “do not ask me about family dinner I am doing my best” but she doesn’t realize that by asking *he* was doing *his* best. His siblings likely kept asking for her and he thought it would benefit her to focus on the family that she still has instead of focusing on the one person that they *all* lost. He was fulfilling his duty as head of the household by acting in, what he believes, is everyone’s best interest. Unfortunately for him, it wasn’t well received. Edmund knew her differently so perhaps it was not a suggestion he would’ve made so soon if he was here. Anthony, however, is her son not her husband and I think in that moment Edmund’s loss was magnified and she saw that while the viscount position could be occupied, the husband position would remain vacant and it caused a lot of resentment between them. It is indeed a painful situation all round 💔

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

It truly is 💔💔

[@remstew7517]

16:03 this is an interesting observation. I wonder what her children think about Lady Whistledown and their mother’s grace for her which she does not extend to them

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

They've probably stopped reading Lady Whistledown at that point. I know I would have 😭

[@amy_harboredinpages]

All good points, even for the mothers I dont want to like... you make me want to like them! I always see the characters as not perfect even if I like them. But here you have me detesting the ones I didn't care for a little less. 🤣🤣🤣

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

Hehehehehe. Then my work here is done!!!

[@sweetmother2406]

Love your closing line 😉

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

Thank you ☺

[@Heidi2003]

Great points 🎉

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

Thank you ☺

[@blueblack3591]

Love your opinions

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

Thank you so much ☺

[@meemo32086]

I want to know why all the fathers are gone. This is so strange.

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

It is unfortunately very fitting for their time. Aristocratic men of that era weren't really actively involved in the lives of their children like that, especially not when it came to navigating the season for marital prospects.

[@jfcfanfic]

I love this.

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

Thank you ☺

[@beatricedelima6677]

From the outside looking in people can and will find faults in all mothers 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

Yup. That is unfortunately life. Mothers like the rest of us are flawed. And it's something I've personally been processing in my own life, coming to that realization as I try to heal.

[@hitatchiqueen]

NORIA PLSSS did you have to start the video with a clip of Daphne's season 1 bangs????

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

LOL!!! I had to. Gods I hate those bangs though. Every time I see them, I just want to get a pair of scissors and go snip snip!

[@hitatchiqueen]

@@ChroniclesofNoria 😂😂

[@brooklynparkse]

In defense of Colin, he may be well adjusted in the sense of being the most empathetic and grounded of the adult children, but he WAS raised by Anthony who was not and therefore still only had crappy male examples to emulate after continually feeling like a loser.

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

You know what? Fair and very true!!

[@Caroline-yn7nc]

what about penelope? i think she will be a good mum

[@hsihdbssbcjtzksk7426]

I think, they haven't colonised India but set up East India company there. Or trade route...

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

True. And sure India doesn't become the British Raj until 1858, but the British Government still had enough of a foothold to be controlling most of the country which is still irksome to me.

[@kimyoonmisurnamefirst7061]

There are no good fathers either? There was one mentioned in Sir Philip (TV show, not book), but did we ever see it?

[@velvethunder]

i think due to the main subject of the show being courting we get much more information on the mothers and some few and rare glimpses or flashbacks on the fathers. but yes. you are absolutely correct

[@AnimeAngel115]

this video isnt about the fathers u bringing up stuff thats irrelevant to the topic of the video.

[@kimyoonmisurnamefirst7061]

@@AnimeAngel115 I'm pointing out that all of the parents are terrible. I would hope you understand how mothers and fathers relate??? Also, by posting it, it gives her more ideas for videos. The fathers are either absent or abusive on the flip side of the mothers who are either controlling or over idealistic.

[@theblacktck8373]

@@kimyoonmisurnamefirst7061 not really. We didnt ever see it. We were simply told. Unfortunately, the only Fathers we have actively seen in all the shows are Violet's Dad, Penelope's Dad and Cressida's dad. Unless I am mistaken?

[@kimyoonmisurnamefirst7061]

@@theblacktck8373 Absent, Dead, or abusive: First Duke--father was abusive to his son and then died. Absent or dead. BTW, worse in the books, much worse. Bridgerton Dad: Dead and then the whole curse thing. Sir Philip in the books: Abusive and then cries about how he doesn't want to be, etc. OMG, I'm hitting my children while remembering how my father hit me. OMG. Let's just neglect them after I have a break down. Talk about triggering people. Featherington Dad: Dead, but didn't seem like a good father or husband. Lady Danbury's father: Abusive. You get to see this a bit in the show as well. Lady Danbury's Husband: Abusive, but never was a father. Father from the next book with Sophie: Dead, Absent and somewhat WTF. Cresida's father: Abusive. Emotionally, in the books, he's much worse. So a lot of deadbeat fathers throughout. In the books more than the show. This, I think, BTW, would make a better video. 'cause everyone has done the mothers, there are 10 videos out about the mothers, but the state of the fathers isn't out there. How do you fix the fathers or the general parenting in the show and try to somewhat keep accurate to the time period? Also, a lot of the men in the Bridgerton books have anger issues they never get over. Like yikes on bikes. I don't get how that's attractive.

[@williethomas5116]

Violet is a good mother. Needing support after losing her husband isn't enough to claim she is a bad mother. Perfect no but nobody is. Also, don't you dare disrespect the Goddess Polly effin Walker in my presence. She's sacrificed so much for her children and yes she us a good mother. Overbearing yes, pretentious yes but still a very good mother.

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

I never said any of the mothers are perfect. In fact that's the entire premise of the video actually. That they're all flawed people, doing their best for themselves and their kids and that's something we should all recognize and extend that grace to them.

[@williethomas5116]

@@ChroniclesofNoria I was teasing you. Great video!!

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

Ah sorry. Tone isn’t conveyed via text so I didn’t know 🙈. Happy you enjoyed the video ☺️🥹

[@viktorijasarac1171]

❤

[@bleeka325]

Bridgerton is a terrible example for what is historically accurate for this time.. I think this argument is judging the mother of that day by the standards of today. A good mother in that day would spend 30 minutes a day with their child and that was considered parenting. So in Queen Charlotte situation it was very normal for a mother to treat their kids as breeding stock to secure a line, and for the throne even more so. The mental health of their kids was at the bottom of their list of priorities if it was on the list at all.