The Honor of the Queen is a science fiction novel by American writer David Weber, first published in 1993. It is the second book in the Honor Harrington series. In the story, Honor is dispatched to the world "Grayson," where she finds that the society on the planet is religiously conservative and discriminatory against women. This proves to be a challenge to her due to her mission as a diplomat to establish good relations. However, Honor must find a way to rally the people of Grayson under her cause in preparation for the inevitable war with Haven. Plot summary Three years after the events in On Basilisk Station, Captain Honor Harrington returns to the Star Kingdom after a long anti-piracy campaign in the Silesian Confederacy. While her ship, HMS Fearless, has her first refit, new orders arrive. Fearless is tasked to lead a small Manticoran squadron supporting a diplomatic mission to the planet Grayson, a planet ruled by a heavily sexist and patriarchal society, due in part to its fundamentalist Christian and Luddite history, as well as its brutally hostile environment. The diplomatic mission is to be led by Admiral Raoul Courvosier, Honor's mentor and personal friend. With the long-awaited war with Haven looming close, Manticore is working to form an Alliance with many small nations. Grayson is critical to this effort, as it would close a flank of advance for a possible Havenite invasion fleet. Adding to the pressure, Haven is negotiating its own alliance with Masada, Grayson's historical rival. The Manticoran ships arrive at Yeltsin's Star, the system where Grayson is located, and are greeted by the small Grayson Navy. However, the welcome is soured by sexism in the Graysons, for whom the notion of a woman in uniform is intolerable. After several hostile confrontations, Honor leaves the system to escort a convoy of freighters, believing her presence is souring the negotiations, even though Courvosier tries to convince her not to do so. After Honor leaves with three of the four Manticoran warships sent to Grayson, Admiral Courvosier meets with Admiral Bernard Yanakov (the commander of the Grayson Navy), and the officers begin to work their way through their cultural differences, earning some sympathy and respect for each other's point of view. Everything is cut short when a Masadan fleet approaches Grayson and begins attacking space stations throughout the system. Admiral Courvosier accepts Yanakov's offer to join his