The father who look like scum in the first chapters is in fact absolutely not. He's doing everything for his daughters, even being hated by them, so he can save them. The queen is actually a reckless psycho, the prince a douchebag morron, and he had to do everything to let them escape, and on top of that, he is actually dying from sickness.
It's a little like severus rogue from harry potter. Everything for his childrens.