Queen Vanessa

Queen Vanessa is a character in A Hat in Time. She is a shadowy being who resides in Subcon Forest, and is the sole resident of her manor.

Background
Queen Vanessa was originally a human princess engaged to a prince. She was enamored by her prince to the point of obsession and became rather controlling, banning bacon from their breakfast and styling his hair to match hers. Whenever the prince was off studying law, Vanessa was often left by herself and was deeply jealous of his female tutor. Vanessa was also greatly upset when her mother died and she was made queen, as she was no longer her prince's "princess".

One day, Vanessa was strolling through the village only to find the prince seemingly holding hands with a florist lady. The prince had been purchasing flowers for his princess, but Vanessa believed he was being unfaithful and ran off crying. The prince attempted to approach her, but Vanessa was so heartbroken that she became corrupted by a dark energy, transforming her into a monster and driving her mad. Vanessa had the prince locked up in the basement and left him there for the remainder of his life. Afterwards, the prince would evolve into the being known as the Snatcher, and the village and its inhabitants would die, creating Subcon Forest.

A Hat in Time
After a Time Piece landed in the area near Queen Vanessa's manor, Hat Kid, as part of her contractual obligations with the Snatcher, was sent to the manor to retrieve it. As Hat Kid searched the old home, Vanessa followed her around and attempted to coax her out of hiding, but Hat successfully avoided her and collected the Time Piece.

Powers and abilities
Queen Vanessa possesses the ability to create and control ice, a power she inherited after her corruption. Using her powers, Vanessa can freeze living beings into ice statues, and will also freeze Hat Kid if she catches her.

Original role
Early on in development, Queen Vanessa would have had a larger role in Subcon Forest. In the original story, she, the Snatcher and the Moonjumper were all fighting each-other over control of the forest.

Vanessa's prince
Originally, the role of Vanessa's prince was intended to go to the Moonjumper, another character living in Subcon Forest. There were many hints in early versions of the game hinting at the Moonjumper's true identity, with the Snatcher even saying that he used to live in her manor. However, during development of the beta build, Moonjumper was removed from the game, and Snatcher was rewritten as Vanessa's prince.

Portrayal
Queen Vanessa is voiced by Eileen Montgomery, who also voices Mustache Girl.

Trivia

 * Queen Vanessa's dress is available as an outfit for Hat Kid in the Seal the Deal add-on pack.
 * Vanessa is the only character who does not show up in Time's End.