Thalira

Queen Thalira of Peladon was the daughter of King Peladon. She became Queen of Peladon when her father died.

Childhood
Thalira was born in the 40th century to King Peladon, (TV: The Monster of Peladon) who was an old man when she was born. (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Monster of Peladon) She had no brothers and was thus heir to the throne. (TV: The Monster of Peladon) According to one account, her father died when she was a baby. (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Monster of Peladon)

Other accounts indicated that Thalira was not a baby but an older child when her father died. (TV: The Monster of Peladon; AUDIO: The Poison of Peladon) She held his hand on his deathbed and promised him that she would go on to thrive as the queen. (AUDIO: The Poison of Peladon)

Like all children on Peladon, Thalira was raised hearing stories of the Third Doctor (TV: The Monster of Peladon) and how he had spared Grun after defeating him and tamed Aggedor. (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Monster of Peladon)

As Queen
Although Thalira was nominally the ruler of Peladon, her chancellor, Ortron, held the real power. (TV: The Monster of Peladon) She developed a friendship with Lianna, her handmaiden who became her confidante. (PROSE: Legacy)

When Thalira met the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith, she released them into Alpha Centauri's custody and later helped thwart the plans of Eckersley and Azaxyr to take over Peladon for Galaxy 5. She got over her insecurity as a woman in a male-dominated society thanks to Sarah, who told her about women's liberation, and she came to assert herself as a ruler in her own right. She was taken captive by Eckersley but was rescued by Aggedor, who killed Eckersley and died in the process. She thanked the Doctor and Sarah before they left. (TV: The Monster of Peladon)

According to one account, Thalira appointed Gebek as her new chancellor shortly after the Galaxy 5 ordeal. She had a son, Tarrol, but did not relinquish her throne to him upon his birth as was traditional for a queen, wanting him to be able to enjoy his childhood. In 3980, she died in space in a shuttle accident with six courtiers whilst on her way to the Galactic Federation headquarters at the invitation of the Draconian chairman. Her body was lost and an empty coffin was placed in the royal tomb in remembrance. (PROSE: Legacy)

According to another account, Thalira instead had a daughter who, before her death, gave birth to Solana. Peladon failed a number of Federation inspections and, when Solana fell ill prior to another inspection, Thalira hid her away in the Temple of Aggedor where River Song was high priestess. She later learnt that Gobran had been secretly medicating the Pels and had taken on the Subsumers as slaves in her name, which appalled her. Alpha Centauri ultimately told Thalira that she would write a good report for Peladon, despite the chaos caused by Father Mendica. (AUDIO: The Poison of Peladon)

Legacy
A century after Thalira met the Doctor, a painting of her hung in the Hall of Portraits. (AUDIO: The Bride of Peladon)

Alpha Centauri told Minaris, Isabelda and Melanie Bush that Thalira was, like her father, a wonderful ruler. The Sixth Doctor too remembered her as a good queen. (AUDIO: The Death of Peladon)

Appearance
In her youth, Queen Thalira was slender and beautiful. A frail girl, she seemed to be almost crushed by the weight of her crown and ceremonial jewels. (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Monster of Peladon)

Behind the scenes
In Return to Peladon, Brian Hayles' original storyline for The Monster of Peladon which was set only a few years after The Curse of Peladon, Thalira was one of Peladon's advisors and had been due to marry him before he fell in love with Jo Grant.