Robert Baratheon is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...
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'', where 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
Ned Stark, both being
wards of Lord
Jon Arryn. After his betrothed
Lyanna Stark was allegedly kidnapped by prince
Rhaegar Targaryen, Robert, Ned and Jon started a rebellion against the "Mad King"
Aerys II Targaryen. 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 to ensure political stability. Although Robert's reign is relatively peaceful, he proves to be an ineffective ruler. He is unhappy in both his marriage to Cersei, whom he abuses, and his responsibilities as king, and lives a life of infidelity and wanton excess. He fathers many
bastards, and is unaware that his three children with Cersei had been fathered by her twin brother
Jaime Lannister.
Although Robert is killed in the first novel, the legacy of his rebellion and reign continues to have a great impact on the contemporary events of
Westeros. His death creates a
power vacuum
In political science and political history, the term power vacuum, also known as a power void, is an analogy between a physical vacuum to the political condition "when someone in a place of power, has lost control of something and no one has r ...
in which his brothers, Cersei's eldest son
Joffrey, and several other claimants fight for control of the Seven Kingdoms, known as the
War of Five Kings.
Character background
Robert Baratheon was the oldest son and heir of Lord Steffon Baratheon and Lady Cassana Estermont. In his youth, he was the
ward of
Jon Arryn and was raised at
the Eyrie alongside
Eddard Stark, with whom he was closer than his brothers. When he was 16, his parents drowned and died during a storm, and he became the Lord of Storm's End. He was
betrothed to Ned's younger sister
Lyanna, with whom he was madly (and unrequitedly) in love. After Lyanna disappeared with
Rhaegar Targaryen, and the execution of Eddard's father, Rickard and brother, Brandon Stark King Aerys II called for Robert and Ned's heads. Jon Arryn refused and began what is now called Robert's Rebellion. Robert played a key role in the downfall of the Targaryen dynasty and killed Rhaegar in
single combat. He married
Cersei Lannister to ensure
House Lannister's support for his rule.
Personality and description
Robert is in his mid-thirties when the events of the books begin. Although being a quarter Targaryen (through his
paternal grandmother Rhaelle), Robert has the classical Baratheon look: black hair and bright blue eyes, with dense black
body hair
Body hair, or androgenic hair, is the terminal hair that develops on the human body during and after puberty. It is differentiated from the head hair and less visible vellus hair, which is much finer and lighter in color. The growth of androge ...
on his chest and around his
sex. He is a very tall man, with Eddard estimating his height to be . As a young adult, Robert was handsome, clean-shaven, strong and powerful, and muscled "like a maiden's fantasy". However, after he won the Iron Throne, Robert becomes very
obese due to excessive feasting and drinking, gaining at least of weight, and turns into an often red-faced man with dark circles underneath his eyes and appears half-drunk and sweating when walking, with a wild, thick, fierce beard that hides his
double chin.
In his youth, Robert is fearless in battle with a powerful voice, wielding a large spiked iron
war hammer too heavy for Eddard Stark to lift, and was a formidable warrior well-loved by soldiers. Though headstrong, rash, and impatient, Robert can be merciful towards his enemies as long as they are honest and brave, and can inspire loyalty and friendship in even enemies via charisma alone. Although deconditioned after becoming king due to weight gain and frequent drinking,
Jaime Lannister still believes that Robert is stronger than him.
Robert is a jovial man of huge appetites and knows to indulge in pleasures. He is quite promiscuous, having fathered multiple
bastard children (17 according to the prophecy by Lannisport fortuneteller Maggy the Frog) with
whores or any women he encounters, and his lusts are the subject of ribald drinking songs throughout the realms. As king, Robert is known to impose upon the hospitality (voluntarily or not) of his subjects, but at the same time also possesses a rather careless generosity. A proud man, Robert rarely backs down on words spoken in a drunken rant. As king, Robert is no longer used to someone disagreeing with him, which makes him vulnerable to manipulation by others. Robert loathes his responsibilities as king and frequently expresses his preference to winning the throne in battle rather than sitting on it. He has never truly loved his wife and is unaware that none of his three children with her are his, but instead
Jaime Lannister's. Under his reign, the realm has been bankrupted, and Robert is deeply in debt to
his wife's family.
Tyrion Lannister considers Robert to be "a great blustering oaf", while
Varys describes him as a fool. His queen wife,
Cersei Lannister, considers him to be an ignorant, dumb, slow-witted, drunken brute who does not have the ruthless streak she believes a king requires. According to
Petyr Baelish, Robert is practised at closing his eyes to things he would rather not see.
Storylines
Robert Baratheon is not a
point of view character in the novels, so his actions are mainly witnessed and interpreted through the eyes of
Ned Stark. He only appears in the first book of the series ''
A Game of Thrones'', though he is mentioned numerous times in the later books by characters such as
Cersei Lannister.
''A Game of Thrones''
King Robert has come to
Winterfell to appoint his close friend
Eddard Stark the Hand of The King, after the untimely death of
Jon Arryn. He was unaware that Cersei's three children were fathered by her twin brother
Jaime
Jaime is a common Spanish and Portuguese male given name for Jacob (name), James (name), Jamie, or Jacques. In Occitania Jacobus became ''Jacome'' and later ''Jacme''. In east Spain, ''Jacme'' became ''Jaime'', in Aragon it became ''Chaime'', and ...
. More interested in food, drink, and
tourneys than in governance, Robert has squandered the royal treasury, leaving the crown heavily in debt. After a hunting accident orchestrated by Cersei, Robert is mortally wounded by a wild boar and appoints Eddard as the
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
for his son
Joffrey. After Robert's death, Eddard loses the political struggle against the Lannisters and is later publicly executed by beheading. The kingdoms plunge into civil war known as the War of the Five Kings (which encompasses the entirety of the following two books) in which Robert's two brothers
Renly
Renly Baratheon is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation '' Game of Thrones''.
Introduced in 1996's '' A Game of Thrones'', Renly i ...
and
Stannis Baratheon both declare themselves the rightful kings. Eddard's vengeful son
Robb and later
Balon Greyjoy also secede and declare kingships.
Family tree of House Baratheon
TV adaptation
Mark Addy plays Robert Baratheon in the television adaption of the series of books. According to showrunners
David Benioff and
D. B. Weiss, Addy's audition for the role was the best they had seen and he was the easiest actor to cast for the show.
Season 1
Robert's storyline is the same in the show as it is in the novels. However, his wife
Cersei reveals that she had one stillborn son by him, which is not the case in the novels, where Cersei uses guile and trickery to prevent him from ever actually engaging in sexual intercourse with her while drunk.
Season 2
After his death, Robert's bastards are ordered to be killed by his heir
Joffrey Baratheon, Robert's supposed legal heir and the new king;
Gendry, subsequently flees the capital.
Seasons 6 & 7
In seasons six and seven,
Bran Stark's gift of vision as the Three-Eyed Raven revealed to him the truth of Rhaegar and Lyanna's relationship and states that 'Robert's Rebellion was built on a lie'.
Season 8
Daenerys Targaryen legitimizes Gendry, naming him Robert's lawful son and Lord of Storm's End.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baratheon, Robert
A Song of Ice and Fire characters
Fiction about regicide
Fictional alcohol abusers
Fictional murdered people
Literary characters introduced in 1996
Fictional characters who committed familicide
Fictional domestic abusers
Fictional rapists
Fictional hunters
Fictional kings
Fictional knights
Fictional lords and ladies
Fictional revolutionaries
Fictional war veterans
Male characters in literature
Male characters in television
Mariticide in fiction
Deaths due to boar attacks