Re: Regina lost her love (and was publicly humiliated?)

[Slurpeez]

I think Regina could have been humiliated in her own mind when the king clearly favored his daughter and first wife over his second wife. Leopold called SW the “fairest in all the land” in episode 10, as her mother had been to him once. Not only did Regina feel cast aside, but I think she was already living a twisted existence full of envy, hatred, and desire for revenge after Daniel’s murder. Blinded by this inner darkness, Regina probably felt being publicly cast aside was equivalent to being publicly humiliated. She was like an old toy who’d been neglected. Of course, she could have been a lousy wife and step-mother, which is why King Leopold never loved her as much as his first wife. Regina felt humiliated that she never gained the king’s favor.

Also, Regina’s hatred was fueled by her belief that SW had taken true love away from her. In episode 8, Snow White admitted to the Huntsman that she’d ruined the queen’s life. In the letter she wrote to Regina, she acknowledged that Regina would never have love in her life because of what she’d done (i.e. tell Regina’s secret to Cora). In the pilot, Snow White speculated that Regina poisoned an apple because she thought SW was prettier than her. I think that was symptomatic of the idea that King Leopold never loved his second wife as much as he loved and admired SW, who resembled his fist wife.

Of course, I think there is more to this story. I really like your theory, weedith, that after Prince Charming awoke SW from the glass coffin, SW returned to the court to expose Regina for murdering the king, thereby dethroning her. That would be real public humiliation for a good reason.