Why Can't Hong Eun Jo Become Queen in To My Beloved Thief?

Hong Eun Jo (Nam Ji Hyun) played a major role in the throne succession, enabling Yi Yeol (Moon Sang Min) to become king at the end of To My Beloved Thief. Everyone knows their love story. Coupled with her elegant, polite, yet firm and courageous character, Hong Eun Jo is considered suitable to be queen. Despite her character and the depth of her love for Yi Yeol, who has ascended the throne, Hong Eun Jo is still unable to become queen until the end. What is the reason Hong Eun Jo is considered impossible to become queen in the drama To My Beloved Thief? Let’s take a look at the following review.

Hong Eun Jo’s status as an Eolnyeo

Hong Eun Jo does have a noble father. Her father, Hong Min Jik (Kim Seok Hoon), is even the Minister of War. However, because her mother is from a lower class, Hong Eun Jo cannot obtain noble status like her half-sister, who was born to a noble mother. Hong Eun Jo belongs to the Eulnyeo social class.

On the other hand, the queen is not only the king’s companion or legal wife, but also an important position in the inner palace. The selection of the queen is carried out carefully and the candidates are chosen from several noble princesses. Because Hong Eun Jo is an Eolnyeo, she is automatically disqualified from the queen candidate selection. She does not meet the requirements for queen candidates, who must be from noble families.

Yi Yeol did not want to hold a royal wedding for her

Yi Yeol knew he couldn’t break the royal rules regarding the selection of a queen candidate that had been in place for several generations. While he couldn’t marry anyone other than Hong Eun Jo, even if it was just for formality’s sake. Therefore, he firmly refused to hold a royal wedding even though he was urged to do so by his ministers.

In addition, Yi Yeol planned to give the throne to the Crown Prince, Yi Gyu’s (Ha Seok Jin) son. From the beginning, he had no ambition to become king. His reason for overthrowing his brother was also because Yi Gyu had acted cruelly and tyrannically. He wanted to protect Hong Eun Jo and help the people of Joseon. Therefore, once his nephew was ready to take over the throne, Yi Yeol would step down.

Hong Eun Jo wants to continue helping the people outside the palace

Actually, the Queen Dowager (Kim Jung Nan) had offered Hong Eun Jo to become Yi Yeol’s concubine. Even though she knew Yi Yeol’s feelings, palace rules prevented her son from marrying Hong Eun Jo as queen because of the difference in social class. Hong Eun Jo rejected the Queen Dowager’s offer. It wasn’t because she was ambitious and wanted to become queen. It was because she didn’t want to live in the palace. Being the king’s consort meant she had to live in the palace, but Hong Eun Jo wanted to help people by becoming a doctor. That was something she couldn’t continue to do if she lived in the palace.

Her social status was the biggest obstacle to Hong Eun Jo becoming queen because social class was very influential in that era. In addition, she and Yi Yeol had their own personal reasons. Even though she couldn’t become queen, to Yi Yeol, Hong Eun Jo was still the only one in his heart. After stepping down from the throne, Yi Yeol married Hong Eun Jo and lived outside the palace. Are you satisfied with this couple’s ending in To My Beloved Thief?