Elisif the Fair

Elisif the Fair is the current Jarl of Solitude and the widow of High King Torygg, the last elected High King of Skyrim prior to the Stormcloak Rebellion. While Elisif holds court at her palace in Solitude, the majority of her courtly duties are handled by her steward, Falk Firebeard. Bolgeir Bearclaw serves as her Housecarl, while Bryling and Erikur serve as her Thanes.

Location
Elisif can be found in the Blue Palace located in the southeast of Solitude. The palace stands directly across from Castle Dour, the headquarters of the Imperial military force in Skyrim.

Widowed
It was after Torygg's death, at the hand of Ulfric Stormcloak, that Elisif became the Jarl of Solitude, and following her assumption to power in Solitude, Elisif would work in close cooperation with the Empire of Tamriel against Ulfric Stormcloak and the Stormcloak Rebellion. The true reasons for Elisif's support of the Empire are debatable, but factors involved included the fact that her husband Torygg served under the Emperor (though Torygg's own loyalty is debatable), that she is inexperienced as a leader, and the fact that Solitude serves as the base of Imperial military power in Skyrim at the time of the Stormcloak Rebellion. Not to mention her husband's death.

Reign as Jarl
In turn, the Empire works closely with Jarl Elisif in its attempts to squash the Stormcloak Rebellion. This Imperial support, along with Elisif's marriage to the last High King, makes Elisif the most likely candidate for the position of monarch should the Empire succeed in ending the Stormcloak Rebellion. However, Elisif's lack of experience and total dependence on Imperial support, specifically with regards to General Tullius, seems to imply that, should she become High Queen, Elisif will be greatly under the control of the Empire.

Stormcloak Rebellion
An outspoken supporter of the Empire, Elisif is a Jarl whose court vies to keep Skyrim as a province of the Empire of Tamriel. Viewing the Stormcloak Rebellion as a blight upon the face of Skyrim, Elsif gives no explicit indication of any dissatisfaction with the Empire.

Talos worship
With regard to religious views, Elisif states that she does not worship Talos. However, she nonetheless asks the Dragonborn to deliver Torygg's War Horn to the Shrine of Talos so that her late husband might have the funerary rights which he would have wanted, High King Torygg having been a worshiper of Talos. As the White-Gold Concordat outlawed the worship of Talos in Skyrim at this time, one is left to make their own assumptions with regards to whether or not Elisif worships Talos in her private life.

Stormcloak victory
If the Dragonborn sides with the Stormcloaks during the Civil War, Elisif agrees to swear fealty to Ulfric Stormcloak with little resistance, but whether she does so out of personal interest or militaristic coercion is not entirely clear. In any case, Ulfric 's choice to garrison a number of his Stormcloaks in Solitude, following a Stormcloak victory in the Battle for Solitude, seems to imply that Elisif will only act as the Jarl of Solitude in so far as Ulfric allows.

Bards College
Elisif forbids the Burning of King Olaf, a locally celebrated festival which involves the burning of an effigy, as the death of her husband has left her sensitive to this type of public defamation. The Dragonborn is able to convince her to allow the Bards College to hold this festival should the Dragonborn find and retrieve King Olaf's Verse. This quest can be initiated by speaking with Viarmo, the headmaster of the college.

Radiant Raiment
Taarie, a tailor at Radiant Raiment in Solitude, sends the Dragonborn to Elisif, sporting one of their many outfits. The Dragonborn is tasked with receiving Elisif's opinion on the clothes. She receives the garments well, ordering the Dragonborn to return with promises of purchasing several gowns from the tailors in the future.

Trivia

 * Elisif is the only Jarl who sit properly at her throne, the other Jarls sit in a slouched position with one hand up near their face.
 * If Elisif is made nonessential (via console) and killed, the Stormcloak Soldiers mention this in several instances, even proclaiming that a Prince of Oblivion killed her: "Even the nobility of Oblivion seem to favor our cause." This implies that Elisif may have originally been a target in a scrapped quest.

Quests

 * Tending the Flames - Recover King Olaf's Verse and convince Elisif to allow the Burning.
 * Becoming Thane of Solitude
 * Elisif's Tribute - Bring Torygg's War Horn to the Shrine of Talos