Rasoherina became queen after the assassination of King Radama II in 1863, at a moment when the political balance of the Merina kingdom was changing sharply. The Hova oligarchy, whose influence had grown through the army, administration, and commerce, formally recognized her as a constitutional monarch. Her position preserved the dynastic institution while limiting the sovereign’s independent power.

Before her coronation, the prime minister and his supporters required Rasoherina to sign a set of articles regulating the exercise of royal authority. She agreed not to drink alcohol, not to impose a death sentence without the advice of councillors, and not to promulgate a new law without the consent of a council dominated by her political supporters. These conditions made constitutional government a practical restriction on royal decision-making.

Rasoherina’s marriage to Rainilaiarivony further altered the relationship between the crown and the government. Rainilaiarivony had become prime minister and commander-in-chief in 1864, and the marriage helped make him the most powerful man in Madagascar. The queen remained a central dynastic figure, but effective authority increasingly rested with the Hova prime minister.