I hesitate to make predictions...but here goes...It's Aegon VI or nobody...
Sansa the Queen
First of all there is a lot of foreshadowing about queenship in Sansa's arc.
Particularly in A Clash of Kings where she fulfills the spiritual role of the Queen to the frightened courtiers of King's Landing while the Battle of the Blackwater rages outside.
One of the most stirring moments in Sansa's arc, one of those rare occurrences when she really displays her incredible strength of character, a strength not rooted in angry masculine energy, the brute application of power of force but the strength of pure kindness is when, during the Battle of the Blackwater, Cersei panicks and flees, leaving 12 year old Sansa to play the role of Queen to soothe the frightened women, children and elderly left in Maegor's Holdfast.
“Oh, gods,” an old woman wailed. “We’re lost, the battle’s lost, she’s running.” Several children were crying. They can smell the fear. Sansa found herself alone on the dais. Should she stay here, or run after the queen and plead for her life?She never knew why she got to her feet, but she did. “Don’t be afraid,” she told them loudly. “The queen has raised the drawbridge. This is the safest place in the city. There’s thick walls, the moat, the spikes…”…Sansa raised her hands for quiet. “Joffrey’s come back to the castle. He’s not hurt. They’re still fighting, that’s all I know, they’re fighting bravely. The queen will be back soon.” The last was a lie, but she had to soothe them. She noticed the fools standing under the galley. “Moon Boy, make us laugh.”Moon Boy did a cartwheel, and vaulted on top of a table. He grabbed up four wine cups and began to juggle them. Every so often one of them would come down and smash him in the head. A few nervous laughs echoed through the hall. Sansa went to Ser Lancel and knelt beside him. His wound was bleeding afresh where the queen had struck him. “Madness,” he gasped. “Gods, the Imp was right, was right…”“Help him,” Sansa commanded two of the serving men. One just looked at her and ran, flagon and all. Other servants were leaving the hall as well, but she could not help that. Together, Sansa and the serving man got the wounded knight back on his feet. “Take him to Maester Frenken.” Lancel was one of them, yet somehow she still could not bring herself to wish him dead. I am soft and weak and stupid, just as Joffrey says. I should be killing him, not helping him.
--A Clash of Kings
This is a woman who wants them all to lose; who wants to see the Lannisters go down; who's just been threatened with beheading if Stannis wins. Who's watched her father get beheaded by these people. Who's been shunned by them. Who's been beaten black and blue while these people watched and did nothing.
12 years old.
Taking charge and taking care of business.
Gives me chills, actually.
So there's your queen foreshadowing, particularly in the larger context where Cersei prattles on about the burdens of queenship to Sansa and then runs away leaving Sansa to assume the responsibilities.
Looking Back to Go Forward
Like many characters in A Song of Ice and Fire, there are several likely historical candidates who served to inspire GRRM with his creation of Sansa Stark. He mixes and matches, as usual.
Can we look back to their lives to see what's in store for Sansa?
One is Elizabeth of York.
Elizabeth of York was the daughter of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville.
Like Sansa, the main deal with Elizabeth of York was that she was highly valuable as a marriage prospect. And whose purpose was basically to be sold to the highest bidder.
This echoes Sansa's storyline, with the powerful families of Tyrell, Lannister and Arryn all vying for her hand in one way or other.
And as Sansa ruefully notes, they aren't doing it for her beauty--it's all about her claim.
So what can we predict from that?
Well, Elizabeth of York ended up marrying Henry Tudor. Henry VII. Who is the Henry VII of A Song of Ice and Fire. She was the mother of King Henry VIII, she was. And he wrote Greensleeves. I love that song. Thanks, Elizabeth of York.
GRRM has compared Stannis to Henry VII in one notable quote:
And it is important that the individual books refer to the civil wars, but the series title reminds us constantly that the real issue lies in the North beyond the Wall. Stannis becomes one of the few characters fully to understand that, which is why in spite of everything he is a righteous man, and not just a version of Henry VII, Tiberius or Louis XI.
--So Spake Martin
But I think most would agree that a marriage with Stannis is not in store for Sansa. He's taken, ladies!
So...Possibility number ONe:
I'm going to guess that she will end up marrying some king though: Aegon VI. And will be living in her favorite castle, the Red Keep--when Daenerys descends upon it with Fire and Blood and blows it to little bits, thus helping to unite the realm against our favorite Dragon Queen from the East.
(There is foreshadowing of this in the Hedge Knight.)
Aegon VI--future husband of Sansa?
Another possible historical parallel is Anne Neville--though, if so I'd say she's already fulfilled that role.
Like Elizabeth of York (and most highborn ladies of that time, actually) Anne Nevillewas torn between the Houses of Lancaster and York. And like Sansa, Anne Neville married a competent technocrat who nobody liked and who had a physical deformity: Richard III.
But Sansa's already done what Anne Neville did, marrying Tyrion. This is about what's in store for her.
There's another compelling historical figure that may have partially inspired Sansa Stark...and that's this lady:
Queen Elizabeth I!
Elizabeth was 'The Virgin Queen.' And she used the lust for her hand and the power it held deftly to her advantage throughout her entire reign.
Despite the sexualization that Sansa is subjected to by almost everyone, she remains 'unbowed, unbent, and unbroken' in the books. She's still a virgin.
Like Sansa, Elizabeth was held captive at one point in her life.
Elizabeth's personal motto was 'video, et taceo': I watch and I keep my mouth shut.Sounds like Sansa.
This habit of observing and adapting to realities of court and international politics made her one of the greatest monarchs in British history--with the longest reign, until Elizabeth II.
And like Sansa, her hair was red.
Another possibility is that she'll marry Gendry. It's Jaime who reflects that Sansa would be happier marrying someone common, like a smith.
So, Possibility 1: She marries Aegon VI and perhaps dies when Dany invades?
Possibility 2
Will Sansa end up being the Virgin Queen in the North?
Possibility 3:
She marries Gendry.
I don't know but I do know one thing. Sansa is 'stronger in Winterfell.'
Man, I'd be pleased if things ended that way.
Of course, the fourth possibility is that Littlefinger kills her for some reason.But let's not go there...
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