Actually, something that bothered me about “The Miller’s Daughter”- why does nobody bat an eyelash when Cora announces that her daughter will one day be Queen? Isn’t that exceptionally poor form? If Cora herself was 6th in line then Regina would be even further from the crown by the time she was of age (assuming the 1-5 placeholders all had children themselves). Granted all of my throne-usurping knowledge comes from Richard III, but I always thought saying those sorts of things were enough to get you accused of treason.
I agree. It isn’t something you announce, you make your plans to usurp the kingdom in secret, behind closed doors! If I was King Joaquin, I would have been insanely nervous at that point. But I also think he knew Regina was going to be a big player and maybe didn’t want to cross her. Rumple may have been jilted, but I wouldn’t want to cross the ex-love of the Dark One. But yeah, she Rafiki-ed Regina and made that announcement in public…not a good idea.