I'm really tired of the "woman sad about her arranged marriage" trope, especially if that woman is royalty.
I am sure that many women across time were sad about their arranged marriages, but I'm sure a lot of others were excited, ambivalent, or resigned. Again, especially if you were royalty! I am sure if you were born a princess, you were trained from birth that your whole purpose in life was to marry someone important to solidify the power of the person on the throne. And honestly, it's an important job, if it wasn't, they wouldn't have tried so hard to do it.
That woman isn't just marrying another king or prince, she's going to be an ambassador of her country. She's supposed to be there promoting good relations. She isn't just a woman being sold off, she has a job! Also, if she is marrying the reigning monarch (or the heir), she may well end up running the country if the king is off at war or he dies when the heir is really young. That happened a lot throughout history! (or maybe she marries the third son and helps him find his way to the throne. Good for her)
It just feels like a modern sentiment being projected back. In Romeo and Juliet, when Juliet's mother first brings up marrying her to Paris, Juliet's basically cool with it and says she'll try to like him. She would have known this was going to happen because that is what rich women do, they marry into another family so their two families can be buddies. What else would she even be expecting?
It wouldn't bother me so much except that it's all we see! Give me a story about a woman who is like, "Cool, I shall give it my all!" Or she's like rolling up her sleeves and planning how she's going to get the court on her side and rule France, power behind the throne style (these women are mostly portrayed as villains, but who is to say the king would do a better job?). And also, have a little faith in women's fathers? You think men in the past didn't occasionally consider the happiness of their daughters? Not even a little bit?
There are women who get excited about their arranged marriages *today*. It can do so much more in a plot than create conflict
if your culture has a tradition of arranged marriages it also probably has a lot of faith in the institution of marriage brokers. so like yeah if i was sixteen and boys were confusing and i was irritatingly horny for guys i knew it would be a really bad idea to actually spend time with, i'd be pretty relieved to know some lady who has done nothing but broker successful power marriages for 50+ years is currently finding me a decent husband, with the input of my dad (who knows what problems men can have) and my mom (who definitely knows what problems men can have).
like. instead i just had to spend my sixteenth year of age horny for random-ass boys who i never did anything with anyway. if i could have been handed a blacksmith or merchant or something that could have been a bit more sensible use of all our time.