I'm not really here yet, but I am thinking about ways Idalia curates her reputation. Because she is as famous for her intellect as her beauty.
She does work more through soft power than hard power. Even when she becomes regent, it suits her better to orchestrate people to move as she desires rather than wield an iron fist. She rarely challenges tradition but uses it to her advantage.
I should note, too, that I default to something medieval-ish in terms of setting. So propaganda and news are gonna move a little differently than we expect.
That having been said, she does align herself with artists and intellectuals, and that does give her incredible propaganda game. She controls how key figures and events are represented in art and what they're associated with; and she controls how they're represented in writing, especially histories.
^ For example, she is well-known for filling her halls with non-human creatures (ogres, chimeras, etc.), both in a living menagerie and as mounted trophies; and it's well-known she has the greatest monster hunter sworn to her. "Encouraging" artists and writers to focus on King St. Dietrich subtly strengthens her own standing by association. She's not heavy-handed with it, and that's why it works so well. People believe they reached the conclusion on their own.
Aligning herself with intellectuals also means aligning herself with the Church. Although she obviously isn't a devout person and would be burned for witchcraft, she has no qualms working with the Church because it is a powerful institution she cannot afford to ignore. And honestly, most officials fall short of their ideal in exploitable ways. The Church's backing is powerful, and access to their resources including raw knowledge (scholarship is in the convents and monasteries!) is invaluable. Being educated in a convent as a girl helps.
^ This also helps to offset some of the less savory aspects of being a famed cruel beauty. Truth matters less than rumor, and there is no shortage of that where she's concerned. She just has to make her association with purity and virtue and refinement louder than any salacious whispers.
Speaking of, her information network is staggering, and she uses the rumor mill to its fullest effect. Before ever becoming queen, she established herself as someone you needed to appease or suffer social death. She has continued to build a formidable sea of agents who will both report to her (rarely knowing the information is going to her actually; degrees of separation create safety) and disseminate whatever lies or truth she chooses.
^ As she gets further into her reign and especially once Sneewittchen goes missing, she leans ever more heavily on the mirror to keep a constant watch on her kingdom (and abroad) almost to the point of paranoia. Contributes to its over-use and tarnishing.
