Well, a lot of these examples run into a problem - the Queen has a violent reputation, yes, but why? Is the violence that is reputed to belong to the Queen actually Calidan's?

Consider the scenario where the Queen's new maid messes up in some minor way. The poor girl is terrified. Everyone knows what will happen to her! The Queen tries to calm the girl, but she can't have her servants messing up. So she tells Calidan to make sure that the girl gets a proper retirement package; fearing the possibility that the girl might be the sole income earner for her family, she also tells Calidan to take care of said family.

Calidan, somewhat shocked at the extent of the Queen's brutality, kills the maid and her family.

Then you get a world where everyone knows her as a violent tyrant... where she might very well not be one at all.