Christa Lenz, born Historia Reiss, entered the world as the illegitimate daughter of Rod Reiss, patriarch of Eldia’s royal family. Confined to isolation on a Reiss estate, she endured her mother Alma’s open disdain, finding fleeting solace in secret lessons from her half-sister Frieda. These moments of literacy and moral guidance—erased afterward by Frieda’s Founding Titan abilities—left fragmented imprints on her psyche. Following Alma’s assassination by Kenny Ackermann’s forces, Historia was forced into the military under the alias "Christa Lenz," a false identity designed to obscure her royal heritage.
Within the 104th Cadet Corps, Christa crafted a facade of relentless compassion, driven by a crippling need for acceptance. Her acts of valor, including a near-fatal snowstorm rescue, masked a latent death wish and profound self-loathing. Ymir, a sharp-tongued comrade, dissected her performative altruism, branding it a bid for posthumous validation rather than true virtue. Their bond grew transformative, pushing Christa to question her manufactured identity—until Ymir’s abrupt departure with Reiner and Bertholdt shattered her progress, plunging her into numb resignation.
The monarchy’s overthrow proved a turning point. Defying Rod’s scheme to weaponize her royal blood, Historia impaled him as he mutated into a Titan, severing ties to familial manipulation. Embracing her birth name, she claimed the throne, trading obedience for agency. As queen, she converted confiscated noble holdings into orphanages, emancipated Underground denizens, and redefined sovereignty through grassroots reform. Her pregnancy, initially viewed as a tactical maneuver, emerged as a deliberate assertion of personal choice, disentangled from political gambits.
Central to her reign was the refusal to inherit the Founding Titan, a safeguard against its mind-altering influence. Her journey—from a fragile, approval-starved cadet to a sovereign who melds Christa’s empathy with Historia’s resolve—underscored a rebirth forged not by others’ expectations, but by her own will.