Queen Anya and Wintermane

Good Gueen — Queen Anya presiding over Princess Gwenevere's Circle of Friendship ceremony in "Jewel Quest, Part II"

Queen Anya is a major character in Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders, voiced by Corinne Orr in English, and dubbed by Ela Nitzsche in German (as Königin Anya) and Laurence Crouzet in French (as Reine Anya). Anya is mother of the show's protagonist Princess Gwenevere, as well as sister to the antagonist Lady Kale. She later inspired the character of Lucinda in Avalon: Web of Magic.

Anya Jared — Anya with King Jared in "Fashion Fever"

Queen Anya is the beautiful, dignified and noble ruler of Avalon, married to King Jared. She is also the former wielder of the Sun Stone, who had adventures of her own before passing it over to her daughter Gwenevere. During her time as a young Jewel Rider, Anya used to ride with a tigress named Wintermane, her own magic animal that remains very close to her to this day.

The good wizard Merlin once selected Princess Anya to become the next Queen instead of her sister, Princess Kale, because of Anya's compassion for people and animals. Today, as the Queen of Avalon and the head of the Crystal Palace, she strives to keep peace and harmony in the kingdom.

Official description[]

"QUEEN ANYA - Queen of Avalon

The beautiful Queen Anya is the woman every girl dreams someday of becoming. She is bright, compassionate, and in command of the Crystal Palace."

"WINTERMANE - Fantasy tiger bonded to Queen Anya

The incredible magic tiger, Wintermane, best friend if the Queen, and always by her side. Wintermane is loved by all the magic animals and takes special pride in Tamara's magical babies."

In the show[]

Character and attributes[]

Queen Anya is pretty, daring, self-confident and capable.^[1] Known for her astonishing beauty and grace, Anya has blonde hair and blue eyes like her daughter, Princess Gwenevere. Her colors are azure, white, navy blue and bright lavender, with gold ornaments.

AnyaSeason2 — Anya's magic dress birthday gift from her daughter in "Fashion Fever"

Anya and her magnificent striped tigress Wintermane have been best friends since their youth, bonded by the special Enchanted Jewel known as the Sun Stone as Jewel Riders in the Friendship Ring after the wizard Merlin recognised her qualities and taught her magic. Together they forged a bond that gave the young Anya the strength, wisdom, and maturity to become the Queen of the Kingdom of Avalon. Today they are still best friends, although they no longer possess the Sun Stone has been passed on to Gwenevere, the daughter of Anya and her husband her loving husband King Jared.

Queen Anya Faery Princess — Anya with Princess Gwenevere and Princess Wisp in "The Faery Princess"

Anya is a stately and regal woman with a very strong and somewhat impulsive personality, but is extremely caring and loving, especially when it comes to the animals and her family. She rules from the royal Crystal Palace and enjoy the absolute respect and loyalty from the many cities, towns and villages. Anya spends what spare time she has in the library studying ancient lore and old legends in an effort to learn where Enchanted Jewels might be buried. She also owns a large collection of magical items and maps stored in the Jewel Keep, into which only she knows the entrance codes. Her personal friends include Lady Robbins of Castle Greenwood.

Anya and Kale[]

Kale2 — Lady Kale in Anya's queen dress in a nightmare dream in "Dreamfields"

Many years ago, back when Princess Anya and her raven-haired twin, Princess Kale have been teenagers, the pure and loving Anya was chosen by Merlin to receive the Sun Stone instead of Kale, who was very magically-gifted but selfish and cruel. When the jealous Kale was found plotting to take the throne away from Anya anyway, she was banished from New Camelot.

But one day, Lady Kale acquires the mysterious and powerful Dark Stone and uses it against Merlin in her new bid to rule Avalon forevermore and by any means. Even Jared and Anya can offer little words of advice to their daughter in the Jewel Quest because they have never used the Enchanted Jewels to battle such an evil power. It is now up to the young Princess and her friends to nevertheless succeed against the odds and to keep Avalon safe from both Kale's plots and the out of control wild magic.

Role[]

Anya and the Jewel Riders — Queen Anya talking to the Jewel Riders in the Jewel Keep in "Morgana"

Princess Gwenevere is the leader of the Jewel Riders, but she still answers to Queen Anya. Gwen's friends Fallon and Tamara have been previously serving Anya and were personally selected by her to become the other two of the next generation of the Jewel Riders. While Gwen believes her mother always knows best, Fallon does not think Anya knows everything. After the girls defend the Faeryland from Kale, Anya and King Oberon make it join the kingdom of Avalon in a treaty under protection of the Jewel Riders. Anya and Jared (and the Pack) are unable to stop Kale's takeover of the Crystal Palace in her guise, and later she personally thanks the Jewel Riders for saving Avalon after their seemingly final victory over her evil sister.

In the second season, Queen Anya has a more active role as she takes over from Merlin (who is now practically entirely absent). She becomes the girls' new mentor in their fight against not only the returning Kale but also an even more dangerous enemy, Morgana. Her last act is sending off the Jewel Riders and The Pack with the collected Wizard Jewels on their final mission to bring back Merlin and save the world again.

Appearances[]

Season 1: "Jewel Quest, Part I", "Jewel Quest, Part II", "Travel Trees Can't Dance", "The Faery Princess", "Dreamfields" (illusion cameo), "Revenge of the Dark Stone", "Full Circle".

Season 2: "Morgana", "Shadowsong", "Fashion Fever", "Spirit of Avalon (Lady of the Lake)".

In the comic[]

Queen Anya returns in the sequel comic series, where her full name is revealed as Adrianna. In the sneak peak preview, she tries to make Gwen act more dignified, as fitting a future queen, but Jared reveals that she herself used to be a troublemaker during her own time as a Jewel Rider.

Behind the scenes[]

Queen Anya was voiced by Corinne Orr just like Kale. Initially, she and Jared were supposed to have also a younger daughter Tara, an ultimately cut character.

She has been at first named Queen Angelene,^[2] the name which she actually has retained in the Catalan-language version of the show (Reina Angelene).^[3] Another of her work-in progress names was Queen Adrianna,^[4]^[5] reminiscent of the "Gold Queen" dragon named Arianth in the original pitch to adapt Dragonriders of Pern.^[6] It later became Anya's full name in the comics.

Anya's tigress Wintermane was at first an all-white tiger, perhaps derived from the "rare albino" dragoness Eliza of the Dragonriders project, and was more rough/fierce-looking in early sketches. Anya's own early design included a red colored cape, the art director Greg Autore changed this to have her look less like Kale.

Legacy[]

Queen Anya inspired the character of the Fairy Queen Lucinda, the ancestor of the protagonist of Kara Davies and twin sister of the antagonist Dark Sorceress in Avalon: Web of Magic.