The Iron Throne, symbol of the King’s sovereignty and the new political order established by Aegon’s invasion, is the seat of the Realm Protector and Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. The Great Hall of the Red Keep serves as the throne room, where the monarch often holds meetings and administers punishments. The seat is icy and rough all around.
Alluring as it may sound, the throne is the most dangerous place in the world, not only because of the multitude of steel blades carved into it, but also because of the weight of responsibility and duty that rests on the shoulders of the one who occupies it. During the first episode of Dragon House, Viserys cutting his finger on the Iron Throne adds to his legendary menace and sets him apart from Game of Thrones.
No one except the Hand of the King is allowed to occupy the seat of power in his place. No regent of a monarchy is entitled to this benefit. However, three queens depart from this rule: Rhaenys Targaryen, Visenya Targaryen, as well as Rhaenyra Targaryen, who reigned on the throne after seizing King’s Landing following the Targaryen civil war also known as The Dance of the Dragons .
The Legend of the Iron Throne Runs Deep
Aegon I Targaryen declared himself the Protector of the Realm after uniting six of the seven kingdoms of Westeros under his rule and was anointed by the High Septon of Oldtown. Aegon fashioned the Iron Throne from the blades of his enemies, and his family would rule for the next three centuries. The lyrics claim that a thousand swords were used to hew the throne, warmed by the flame of the dragon of Balerion who served as Aegon’s faithful beast. But historians say it was the gunsmiths who really made the seat.
Aegon’s hardwood fortress, the Aegonfort, was located on the coast where he originally landed, and it was there that the Iron Throne was kept. A colony arose there, and now this area is known as King’s Landing, the center of the kingdom. In 2 AC, Aegon brought the Iron Islands into his empire and launched the First Ever Dornish Conflict in 4 AC in an attempt to subjugate the last of the seven kingdoms.
After the First Dornish Conflict ended in 13 AC, the Iron Throne refrained from starting any further wars. In AD 37, at the start of Aenys I Targaryen’s tenure, the Second Dornish Conflict broke out, followed by the Third and Fourth Dornish Conflicts throughout Jaehaerys I Targaryen’s tenure, and finally the invasion of Dorne during the reign of Daeron I Targaryen.
While Aegon along with his siblings were on one of their advances away from the city, the Iron Throne would be occupied by one of his consorts, Rhaenys or Visenya Targaryen. Aegon ordered the destruction of Aegonfort, seat of the Iron Throne, in AD 35. The Iron Throne remained in its original location while work began on the Red Keep.
Mad King’s Death and Robert’s Uprising
Aerys II Targaryen, often known as the Mad King, refused to yield to Lannister’s army after the siege of King’s Landing at the end of Robert’s Rising and instead ordered the capital to be burned to the ground using underground wildfire stores.
Ser Jaime Lannister, a member of the King’s bodyguards, ended the Mad King’s reign by killing him right outside his seat. Jaime, deeply troubled by the fact that he had just assassinated the king he had sworn to protect, quietly sat on the Iron Throne and paid little attention to the chaos unfolding around him.
Hours later, when the bulk of the Rebel forces had finally reached the kingdom, Ned Stark entered the throne room to find Lannister still seated on the Iron Throne. Eddard quickly ordered him out of the seat.
Cersei, Jaime’s sister, criticized Eddard decades later for not attempting to usurp the crown at the time, rather than allowing Robert to do so. Jaime’s true motives for killing King Aerys were never revealed to Stark, and Eddard’s mistaken assumption that Jaime wanted the Iron Throne for himself was fueled by seeing Jaime sit on it all. by acting arrogantly.
