Wicked Queen

Golden Age Origin
Brangomar was a beautiful woman, who married a king, the father of Snow White. When the king died, the Queen assumed power over the kingdom, but the people loved the king's beautiful young daughter, Snow White, far more than the queen. Jealous, the Queen demanded that Snow White wear ragged clothes to prevent her from becoming vain, and demanded that she engage in manual labor to prevent her from becoming lazy. She also forced the princess to sleep in a closet. At last, the Queen ordered a Huntsman named Berthold to take Snow White into the woods and kill her, bringing back her lungs and liver as proof. If he failed, the Queen would kill his family. However, Snow White convinced the Huntsman to let her go, and Snow White found refuge with seven dwarves. The huntsman brought the Queen the lungs and liver of a boar, which she ate, believing them to be Snow White's. The Queen later learned that Snow White was still alive when she asked her magic mirror, "who is the fairest of them all?" She then decided to take matters into her own hands and approached snow white, in disguise, while the dwarves were away. She came to Snow White three times, each time bearing a different disguise and a different gift designed to kill the princess, including a constricting bodice, a poison comb, and finally a poison apple. The first two items failed, but Snow White took the apple and bit into it. The princess appeared to be doomed and was placed in a glass coffin, but she was soon revived by true love's kiss from Prince Florimond of Calydon. Snow White returned to the Queen's castle with her prince and they took back the throne, forcing the Queen to dance in hot iron shoes at their wedding.

The Queen is usually described as remaining unnaturally young and beautiful over the years, leading many to believe that she is a witch. She is extremely attractive, second only to Snow White herself. The Queen also possesses a magical mirror that appears to be sentient and possibly even omniscient. It can answer most any question posed to it, but the Queen, in her vanity, is most likely to ask it, "who is the fairest of them all?"

Public Domain Movie Appearances
Snow White (1916/I) Played by Dorothy Cumming (as Queen Brangomar) Snow White (1916/II) Played by Ruth Richie (as Wicked Queen Alice) ... aka "The Grimm Brother's Snow White" - USA (alternative title) Snow White (1933)