Disclaimer: I obviously don't own any rights to Frozen – those are all held by the Walt Disney Company and all the appropriate people. I'm just playing around.
[Author's note: This one is for my sister, who keeps being amused by my constitutional rants and analyses of Frozen, the best Disney movie in years, and most interesting of all from a constitutional perspective.]
1848 in Arendelle: Fear, Love and Opportunity
Elsa looked out the window of her throne room as she waited.
She sighed, wishing she was out enjoying the crisp March air. It was the twentieth day of March, the first day of spring. While it would still be many weeks until the snow melted in Arendelle, her favourite time of year was ending.
She heard the joyful laughter of her sister Anna as she played in the snow in the palace courtyard with Olaf the snowman and Sven, the reindeer companion of Anna's new husband Kristoff (well, Prince Kristoff, now). She wished she could join them, and would soon enough. But first, there were matters of state to attend to.
Since the unfortunate events after her coronation two years ago, she had quickly found the most boring part of being Queen of Arendelle to be the weekly meetings with the Council of State. It was important business. It was also usually boring business. Two hours of hearing the reports of the members of the Council. Winter reducing trade, but increasing fur profits, the Council making sure there was enough grain to last until harvest, or that there was enough other goods to trade for it if there was not, hearing (and subsequently ignoring) yet another diplomatic protest from the Duke of Weselton... it was the same thing, week after week. Month after month. Year after year. She knew it. They knew it. And they all endured it. It was the business of being Queen.
Not for the first time, she envied Anna, down there laughing and playing in the snow.
Her equerry announced the arrival of the Council, and Elsa reluctantly turned away from the window. She watched as they filed in: her chief minister the Kansler, a well-meaning (if fearful) bald man; the new Archbishop of Arendelle, the compassionate new leader of the Church of Arendelle; Lord Engebretsen and Lord Foss, the representatives of the nobility; Harald Christensen of the Merchants' League; and the newly-chosen representative of the Guilds, her brother-in-law Prince Kristoff, member of the Iceman's Guild. She sat down upon her throne and solemnly nodded to each member of her council as they took their seats at the Council's table, although she gave a small wave of her fingers to Kristoff.
But this meeting was different. The Kansler looked agitated, wiping his forehead vigorously with his handkerchief, even though the temperature of the castle was keep colder that the Arendellian norm, as Elsa preferred.
"Terrible news, your Majesty! Revolution!"
Lords Engebretsen and Foss gasped, and Mr. Christensen looked around in terror. The Archbishop raised an eyebrow, while Kristoff merely watched and held his council.
Everyone awaited her reaction, as Elsa got up, went to her window, and listened.
"It's an awfully quiet revolution, don't you think?" Elsa asked as she turned around, causing Kristoff to laugh in spite of himself.
"Not here, your Majesty. Not yet. But Milan and Venice are now in revolt. The French overthrew their king a month ago. Crowds are marching in Baden and Prussia. And the Duke of Weselton has abdicated his throne and fled to Russia!"
"Good. Let us send a ship to Weselton, present an ambassador, and re-open trade with them, now that that scoundrel is gone. Send warm greetings to their new duke," Elsa said decisively. "They did install a new duke, didn't they?"
"They did. For now," the Kansler said darkly. "But one never knows when the Wesels will go the way of the French and dispense with the dukedom altogether. One never knows when anyone will."
Elsa raised an eyebrow. "What are you implying, my Lord Kansler?"
"A spectre is haunting Europe, Your Majesty. The threat of revolution endangers us all."
"I hardly think so. I walk through the streets regularly, and none of my loyal subjects endangers me."
"Perhaps the fact that their Queen can impale them upon shards of ice with a wave of her hand has something to do with that," said Mr. Christensen.
"Mister Christensen!" said the Archbishop, admonishing the noble with a tone he normally reserved for unrepentant sinners. "Her Majesty would do no such thing!"
Lord Foss, a man with an oily demeanour, said "With all due respect, Your Majesty, you are gravely mistaken. The people are restless. They wish to emulate the 'citizens' of Paris. They wish to overthrow their betters. They wish to have a say in how Arendelle is run!"
"Perhaps they should," said Elsa. "Have a say, I mean."
Lord Engebretsen, an ancient man who had been on the council for decades, slapped his hand down and said, "Your Majesty, I served on this Council for your father the King, for your grandfather the King, and for your great-grandfather the King before him! In each case, the throne was passed down from father to child, intact, without the interference of the ignorant rabble! Would you throw away your patrimony because of the agitation of some busybody plebeians? The throne of Arendelle is solid. Permanent. Unchanging. As it ever was, and as it ever shall be."
"Change isn't so bad, I think," said Kristoff hesitantly.
"Change is the ENEMY!" thundered Lord Engebretsen
"Yes. Well," said the Archbishop. "The opinions of their Lordships notwithstanding, the events after your coronation did expose something rotten in the state of Arendelle. Prince Hans' plot relied on you having no heir, and him convincing your charming if impressionable sister to marry him to become king. While that specific problem has been solved thanks to His Highness," he said, nodding at Kristoff, "it is a troubling weakness."
Lord Foss leaned forward. "It is a weakness which can be remedied easily while solving another problem. If Your Majesty would marry, for example, a Russian Grand Duke of sound opinions, especially in these troubling times, we could have a king who would resist any pressures from below."
Kristoff tried to stifle a giggle, unsuccessfully, to scowls from Mr. Christensen and Lord Foss, bewilderment from Lord Engebretsen, studious impassivity from the Archbishop, and a small smile from Elsa.
"Why would he become king?" Kristoff asked.
"It is how these things are done," Lord Foss said. "Look at Spain – when the Duke of Cadiz married Queen Isabella two years ago, he became King. That was how it was done last time this was an issue in Arendelle, back in..."
"1397," said Lord Engebretsen
Kristoff looked puzzled. "But Prince Albert isn't king in England, and he married Queen Victoria. They don't have kings consort there."
"Good point, Your Highness!" said Elsa, impressed.
"I guess something stuck from those lessons from before I married Anna," Kristoff said, a touch of pride in his voice.
"Yes, we're all very impressed His Highness has absorbed some basic knowledge of diplomacy," Lord Foss said dismissively. "But Prince Albert is an exceptional man in an exceptional country."
"Are you saying Arendelle is unexceptional?" Elsa asked.
"No, but it's not England."
"They have a parliament."
"They're different."
"They're the richest and most powerful country in the world."
"They're different!" stressed Lord Foss.
"Putting a foreigner in charge was Hans' plan," Elsa pointed out.
"It was the wrong foreigner. We could get you the right foreigner."
"Why does it have to be a foreigner at all?" Elsa asked.
"Arendelle has already been deprived of the opportunity of one diplomatic marriage, Your Majesty. Don't deprive her of another."
"Hey!" shouted Kristoff.
"I will not marry for state, and I will not marry for fear. When the time is right, I will marry for love," Elsa said frostily.
"You could marry for all three and get us the right king," Lord Foss pointed out.
"Why have a king at all?" Kristoff asked. "Why not just have Queen Elsa in charge when she marries?"
"You can't just change the law!" said Lord Engebretsen "Why not just change everything?"
"Why not just change everything?" retorted Elsa.
"Encourage the rabble, why don't we?" said Lord Engebretsen witheringly. "Why not just let them march through the streets, and depose us all? Why not have the streets run with blood?"
"It will hardly come to that," said the Archbishop. "The people are good. They only wish for fairness."
"They wish for our heads on a pike!" said Lord Foss.
"All on the same pike?" Elsa asked.
"Your Majesty, this is serious," said the Kansler. "We need to plan what happens if this revolutionary infection spreads here. We can flee to your Ice Palace on the North Mountain – the Council, Princess Anna, loyal elements of the army, to regroup and retake the city."
"It's not going to happen," Elsa said.
"I think we'd be able to retake it, with your.. abilities and a bit of luck."
"I mean, we're not going to flee, and the people are not going to revolt."
"That's what Louis Philippe thought. As did Charles X. And Louis XVI!" said Lord Engebretsen
"I'm not afraid. I don't fear my people."
"Perhaps you should," said Lord Foss. "There are... murmurings."
"Murmurings?"
"Murmurings."
"Wishes for a better life," the Archbishop said. "Hopes to participate. To help build Arendelle. To help you, Your Majesty."
"Heads on pikes is helpful?" Lord Foss asked sarcastically.
"Enough with the heads on pikes, Lord Foss," the Archbishop said. "Do not fear the people, Your Majesty. Be generous. They love you."
"Heads on pikes," muttered Lord Engebretsen
Elsa stood in her bedchamber that night, creating radially symmetric ice structures with a wave of her hand, and dissolving them with another wave, as she pondered the situation. She really would rather be at her Ice Palace at a time like this, but after the events of two years ago, she wasn't going to flee at the first sign of trouble. She had learnt to her detriment the danger of fear – what she was capable of when she felt cornered. She didn't want to feel that now – not toward her own people.
But the news for the south was worrying. While it was gratifying to be rid of the Duke of Weselton, France was in turmoil, the German and Italian states were in revolt, and the ambassadors to Arendelle were afraid of worse to come.
The Kansler, Lords Engebretsen and Foss, and Harald Christensen were all convinced the people were on the edge of revolt, and that they needed to take preemptive action, or at the very least, prepare for an insurrection. The Archbishop and Kristoff, on the other hand, thought there was no need to act rashly, no need to fear, and that the grievances of the people, while legitimate, could be accommodated.
"Everyone loves you," Anna had told her. "You're their beloved Snow Queen. Don't worry that the Duke of Weaseltown had to flee a mob... he's a little jerk who tried to have you killed! And can't even dance well. No wonder the Weasels got rid of him."
Elsa tried to listen to her sister, and Kristoff. No more fear... no more worry... no being cornered. She wasn't going to be afraid of her people. Despite what was happening the countries to the south, despite what most of her Council of State said, she wasn't going to give in. Fear made her lash out. Fear made her react. Fear made her magic... unpredictable.
Even more troubling than the talk of revolution, though, was Lord Foss' suggestion that she marry. Elsa knew that being who she was, doing what she could do, would make it difficult to meet anyone under the best of circumstances... finding someone to love, someone who didn't mind her cryomancy would be difficult enough, but finding that together with someone who cared for her, and not for power? That would be difficult indeed – the Prince Hans episode proved that! – especially with the kind of marriage of state Lord Foss was suggesting. She knew she had to secure the succession, eventually, but she didn't just want to marry to produce an heir. She wanted love. She didn't want to submit to a would-be king. She wanted a true partner. A marriage of love, not of fear of what would happen without it.
Queen Victoria in the United Kingdom could do it. Why couldn't she?
The news wasn't improving by the beginning of April. The revolutions had spread to Austria and Hungary. Revolutionary governments held power in Vienna, in Berlin, in Frankfurt. There were demonstrations in the Southern Isles.
And there had been marches in Arendelle, demanding a constitution and a parliament.
The Council was worried. The Archbishop preached caution and goodwill, Kristoff advised that the guilds were restless but still supporting their Queen, but the rest of the council was advising retreat to the Ice Palace. The council, along with Princess Anna (who unwaveringly supported her sister) debated long into the night, when a dull roar was heard outside... which grew louder and louder.
Lord Engebretsen rose slowly and moved to the window. "REVOLUTION!" he cried, causing the rest of them to rush to the windows.
Elsa saw a large crowd of people, numbering in the thousands, crowding into the courtyard. Her policy of leaving the gates open, as they had been ever since Anna had saved her life, allowed the crowd to surge right to the edge of palace.
"They're here to kill us all!" shouted Mr. Christensen.
Kristoff looked out. "They're remarkably peaceful if they are."
"They're a torch-wielding mob!"
"Uhhh... it's dark," said Anna. "They probably just wanted to see where they were going, and not fall into the fjord."
Lord Foss turned to Elsa. "Your Majesty, they're here to do you harm! Use your powers! Build an ice wall! Blast them away from the gates!"
Elsa looked out herself.
"The Queen!" the crowd began chanting. "We want the Queen to address us!"
"THE QUEEN! THE QUEEN!"
"They're calling for your head, Ma'am," said Lord Engebretsen.
"They're calling for your guidance," said the Archbishop.
Elsa stopped and considered the situation. It was certainly a scary-looking crowd, chanting for her and waving torches. He first instinct was the old one – fear. Retreat. Get away.
But that didn't seem right. She looked out again. "THE QUEEN!" they shouted when they saw her face. They were waving their torches, but they were doffing their hats.
"They love you," Anna whispered.
Elsa stepped back, and waved her hand above her head...
("Strike them down, Majesty!" she heard Lord Foss say)
and created a delicate and beautiful tiara of ice.
"I'm going to talk to them," she said.
"No need to fear... no need to fear..." she said in her mind like a mantra as she descended the stairs to the main hall, Anna and Kristoff trailing behind her. It was time to meet her people with the love she felt for them, the love she hoped they felt for her. It was time to seize this opportunity for change.
It was time to be bold.
She opened the palace doors, and stepped out into the courtyard. She passed her guards standing alert around the palace, and walked into the crowd. The crowd parted, allowing their Queen, and the Princess and Prince to walk among them. The Archbishop stood in the doorway behind them. Elsa knew the rest of the Council watched from the throne room window.
Elsa raised a hand. The crowd recoiled until they realized she wasn't using her magic, but was just signalling for quiet.
A hush fell in the courtyard.
"My friends!" she spoke. "My people! You have come!"
"THE QUEEN!" they shouted, but she knew now there was no need to fear, no need to retreat, not even with the people surrounding her.
"Countrymen! I have heard your grievances! The revolution that has swept Europe is sweeping Arendelle! And I welcome it! I welcome you. I am your Queen! I am the head of the revolution!"
A roar spread through the crowd. A cheerful, welcoming roar.
"HURRAH! HURRAH FOR QUEEN ELSA!"
She raised a hand again. The crowd went silent.
"Already I have reopened trade with our friends in Weselton, now that they have rid themselves of their vile duke! And now I will grant you a constitution!"
Another roar of cheers, which stopped as she raised her hand again.
"And in the first article of this, your constitution, I promise this to you, my people! Never will you have to worry about a foreigner on the throne of Arendelle! No consort of mine, or of any Arendellian queen shall ever be king!"
A cheer even louder than before roared out of the crowd. The memory of Prince Hans and his plot was a bitter one.
She turned and looked at the balcony. Lord Foss was seething with anger. Lord Engebretsen shook his head.
But she was happy. The revolution gave her the perfect opportunity to change. To save herself. To begin to build a stronger Arendelle.
And the crowd, the people? They loved her. The chants of "THE QUEEN! HURRAH FOR THE QUEEN!" rose, louder and louder.
She smiled. It was a good day.