Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-1916997-20170812154155

So here is my crazy theory. It was implyed Xavier had other children (or at least other relatives that were higher up in the line of succession) as Henry Sr. was not going to be king. Cora of course wanted to be queen, which is why she went after Leopold and then Henry Sr. Because being a royal was such a focus of Cora, I'd assume she would have had other plans to get Henry Sr. to be king. Those obviously failed, and so she realized that getting Regina to be queen was the only viable option. I believe one of those plans was to take out Briar Rose, as she was higher in the line of succession than Henry Sr. Cora went to investigate Briar Rose's past, to find a weakness, and met Maleficent, who already had a grudge against Briar Rose for something. Mal told Cora about her Sleeping Curse she was making, and how she planned to use it on Briar Rose. With Briar Rose incapacitated, Henry Sr. (with Cora) would assume the throne. Of course, while they were able to curse Briar Rose, Stefan then awoke her from the Sleeping Curse, and they were able to assume their role in ruling the kingdom. Cora, blaming Mal, who was distraught that her plan had failed, stole Mal's spellbook, which is why Regina finds it with Cora's things. I believe timeline wise, this also lines up, seeing the age of Aurora and Regina when Mal curses her. Thoughts? 