Awkward Sultana

L'Allée du roi // Versailles 3.09

the sultanate of women: Mihrimah Sultan 

House of the Dragon: Rhaenyra Targaryen and The Politics of Having Illegitimate Heirs

I don’t think people understand why Alicent was so bothered by Rhaenyra having illegitimate children as much as she was. Yes, part of it was coming from a place of frustration at Rhaenyra for scoffing at tradition and not honouring her marriage vows, but Alicent’s primary focus was on the politics - and how it put her own children in mortal danger.

You see, if Rhaenyra had legitimate children with Ser Laenor, then the Greens would have no reason whatsoever to try and replace Rhaenyra as heir to the throne with Aegon. They, in truth, would’ve been usurpers. But as we know, Rhaenyra having bastards not only weakened her own claim to the throne but by it, she has given her enemies a legitimate reason to support Aegon instead of her. Just think about it - nearly every lord in the realm has a bastard of his own. If Rhaenyra puts her own bastards on the throne, it sets a precedent - that bastards can have a claim to a title just as much as legitimate children can. This of course presents a HUGE crisis to the lords who probably have multiple bastards running around, now all potential heirs to his house. Some lords might even have older bastard brothers, brothers who would potentially be better rulers than them if they were trueborn. Brothers who would follow Rhaenyra’s suit and place themselves in positions of great power and usurp their trueborn sibling’s claims. No doubt, this would lead to violence, in-fighting, bloodshed and the potential extinction of houses and bloodlines that go back thousands of years.

So naturally, any lord who would be fearful of this playing out would naturally ally themselves with the trueborn children of House Targaryen - Alicent’s children. Whether the Greens want it or not, Aegon, Helaena, Aemond and Daeron would become unwilling figureheads for rebellions against Rhaenyra. These rebels would rally themselves around Alicent’s children, demand them to be crowned instead of Rhaenyra, and of course, Rhaenyra would have absolutely no choice but to execute her half-siblings, to save herself and her children. Whether Alicent’s children want it or not, they are living, breathing, constant challenges to Rhaenyra’s throne.

It’s the exact predicament Mary I of England faced - a Catholic queen who had just deposed her Protestant cousin, the Lady Jane Grey, Mary had no choice but to order 16 year old Jane’s execution in 1554. Despite having Jane imprisoned, rebels kept on popping up around England, all marching on London to dethrone Mary in Jane’s name, even though Jane herself was oblivious to what was happening because she was behind bars and had already relinquished her crown and declared for Mary. Mary was hoping to restore Catholicism to England and was planning to marry a foreign prince so she could provide England with a Catholic heir - but she knew so long as Jane lived, Mary, her future children and England would never know peace. So she reluctantly signed Jane’s death warrant, causing the death of one of England’s most tragic figures.

This would be the fate of Alicent’s children if Rhaenyra ever ascended the throne. No matter how good willed Queen Rhaenyra would be to her siblings, it wouldn’t last. The minute the first lord lit the beacon of rebellion and openly called Rhaenyra’s sons illegitimate usurpers of Alicent’s trueborn children with no right to the throne, Alicent’s children would’ve been executed. There’s absolutely no way Rhaenyra would ever chose Aegon, Helaena, Aemond and Daeron’s lives over her own living children - what mother would?

6 News Australia, run by 16 year old Leonardo Puglisi and his friends in between classes at school, is one of Australia's leading sources of political news.

The news outlet regularly breaks stories, and has previously interviewed many of Australia's leading politicians including the Prime Minister and opposition leader during the last election.

The outlet is currently in beef with the Queensland state government after publishing leaks that they are planning to sack the Premier.

Update: the 16 year olds have unseated a Premier

This is Mohammed Mahmoud Al-Belbiese (hamodabady on ig and hamoodabady on tiktok). He passed away in an Israeli airstrike on Oct. 17.

The person who filmed this, Bassam Fal (bassamfaluona on ig and bassam_fal on tiktok), now documents the genocidal assault on Gaza as one of many journalists on the ground who are being targeted by the IOF for their work. Israel has killed over a 100 Palestinian journalists since October 7.

[Video description: A tweet by @/jinsjiddies from December 28 2023. It reads:

I remember seeing a Palestinian guy dancing dabke at his graduation in August and he went viral. I woke up today thinking about him and wondering where he is today… I found his account and he hasn’t posted since October… but this was him 🥺

Attached is a video of a young, skinny Palestinian man with brown skin and short cropped black hair dancing dabke with several others, wearing a black graduation gown with gold trim, in front of a crowd of similarly dressed fellow graduates.

The video is by TikTok user @/bassam_fal.]

Ezgi Eyüboğlu  as Aybige Hatun Raziye Sultan

An Egyptian man taking a selfie with a 2000 years old Roman era portrait of an Egyptian man.

Transphobes can die mad 🤷🏻

A closer look because these ladies deserve to be appreciated 💓

Macy’s employee Mike Reynolds, 53, slides from the 19th to the ground floor on package chutes before Christmas, ca. 1940s, to ensure that no package gets stuck. Reynolds had been doing this for 26 years when the picture was taken, slid about 2 miles a week, and wore out a pair of overalls every six weeks.

Leonie Frieda, Francis I: The Maker of Modern France

The show's version of Suleiman and Hürrem:

The historical version of Suleiman and Hürrem:

↳ historical mothers and sons with bad relationships 

↳ Through Isabella of France, the English crown claimed the French throne, causing the Hundred Year War