Robert Baratheon

Robert Baratheon is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin and its television adaptation, Game of Thrones, in which he is portrayed by English actor Mark Addy. Introduced in 1996's A Game of Thrones, Robert is the eldest son and heir of Lord Steffon Baratheon. He is a close friend to Eddard "Ned" Stark, and both of them were wards of Lord Jon Arryn as boys. After his betrothed, Lyanna Stark, was allegedly kidnapped by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, and Eddard's father and brother were murdered by Rhaegar's father, "Mad King" Aerys II Targaryen, Robert, Ned, and Jon started a rebellion. After crushing the Targaryen dynasty and winning the war, during which Lyanna died, Robert took the Iron Throne. He married Tywin Lannister's daughter, Cersei Lannister, to secure political stability. Although Robert's reign is fairly peaceful, he proves to be an ineffective ruler. He is unhappy in his marriage to Cersei, whom he mistreats, and in his duties as king, living a life of infidelity and reckless excess. He fathers many illegitimate children and remains unaware that his three children with Cersei were actually fathered by her twin brother, Jaime Lannister, from incest. Although Robert dies in the first novel, the legacy of his rebellion and reign continues to have a significant impact on contemporary events in Westeros. His death creates a power vacuum in which his brothers and Cersei's eldest son, Joffrey Baratheon, fight for control of the Seven Kingdoms while Robb Stark and Balon Greyjoy fight for secession, known as the War of Five Kings. According to Martin, Robert is based on the 15th-century English king Edward IV.