Cersei Lannister

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Cersei Lannister
Cersei.jpg

Alias Light of the West
Titles
  • Queen Dowager
  • Protector of the Realm
  • Lady of Casterly Rock
  • Queen Regent
Allegiance House Lannister
Culture Westerlands
Born 266 AC
Casterly Rock
Spouse Robert Baratheon (deceased)
Books

Played by Lena Heady[1]
TV series Season 1 | Season 2
Young beautiful queen Cersei, in her chambers. Art by TeiIku©
Cersei and her husband King Robert Baratheon
Cersei and jaime relationship
Cersei Joffrey Sansa at Eddard Stark beheading

Cersei Lannister is Tywin Lannister's eldest child by mere moments and the twin sister of Jaime Lannister. After Robert's Rebellion she married the new king, Robert Baratheon, and became Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. She becomes a POV Character in A Feast for Crows. In the TV series she is played by Lena Headey.[1]

Character and Appearance

Cersei is willful, ambitious and has a certain low cunning. She is, in her opinion, politically astute and likes to think of herself as her father's daughter, and feels slighted when people do not jump to her erratic commands. She resents the customs and conventions put on her because of her gender, but never realises that people do not come to her or respect her commands because she is an ineffectual leader. Cersei despises her youngest brother Tyrion, whom she blames for killing their mother Joanna, who died in childbirth. As a child she pinches him when she hears something she doesn't like and Oberyn Martell recounts to Tyrion that Cersei treated him cruelly in their presence, only stopping when Jaime intervened. She is very close to her twin brother Jaime; for years they carried on an incestuous relationship, and Jaime is the real father of her children. She is concerned for the safety of her children and stops at nothing to protect them, but stops far short of genuine motherhood. She often acts hypocritically and is cruel to people she meets. She shares her father's belief that fear is better then love.

Cersei has gained more power as the series has gone on, though she is shown to be a bad decision-maker and a very poor ruler. She does not have the patience or judgment for the tedium of leadership. She fails to understand how her actions carry responsibilities and consequences, for example, causing the rout of King's Landing when she recalls Joffery from the front. When she comes into power in her own right and names a new small council she surrounds herself with lickspittles, who only tell her what she wants to hear. She begins drinking heavily. To her peril, she ignores news from abroad, including the momentous discovery of Daenerys' dragons. She generally prefers using court intrigue to get rid of her imagined enemies. Littlefinger once stated that Cersei lusts for power but does not know how to wield it, and also stated that while Cersei believes she is a player in the Game of Thrones she is actually just a piece who thinks she's a player.

Cersei is is a classically beautiful Lannister, with curly golden hair, bright green eyes, and a slender figure. She has a fair skin.[2] Nevertheless, motherhood and years have taken its toll on her body. She seems to have prophetic dreams, a remnant of her prophesy from Maggy the frog, or perhaps just nightmares.

History

Cersei has been haunted since childhood by a prophecy given to her by a maegi, Maggy the Frog. This prophecy correctly predicted the death of the friend who was with her at the time, her unrequited love for Rhaegar Targaryen, and her marriage (and mutual infidelity) with a king. It also predicted that all three of her children would be crowned, but that all three would die before her. Everything that she had would be taken away by a younger and more beautiful queen, and then the valonqar (High Valyrian for "little brother") would strangle her to death.[3]

Cersei has shared an incestuous relationship with her twin brother Jaime since they were youths.[4] When they are discovered by a servant, her mother moves their rooms to separate sides of the castle. When she was a young girl her father, the Hand of the King Tywin Lannister, once promised her she would wed Prince Rhaegar. Cersei was delighted by this and was infatuated with Rhaegar when she the first met him. But the marriage offer was rebuffed by Aerys II. When her father goes to King's Landing, he takes her with him. She misses Jaime and is jealous of the proposed match between Jaime and Lysa Tully, so when he visits her in King's Landing she uses sex to manipulate him into joining up to the Kingsguard. Once he agrees, she orchestrates the arrangements behind the scenes and within a month, Jaime is sworn into the Kingsguard at the Tourney of Harrenhal. Cersei didn't think the consequences through very well, and Tywin, furious at the loss of his beloved son and heir, resigns his handship under a thin pretext and leaves King's Landing for Casterly Rock and takes her with him so she is again separated from Jaime. However, she is consoled by the fact that Jaime will never be able to marry.

She married Robert shortly after the conclusion of his rebellion; she is enthralled by the happy crowds at her wedding but grew to hate him after he called her "Lyanna" during intercourse their first night together. Now back in King's Landing, she carried on her incestuous relationship with Jaime during her marriage, and all her three children (Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen), were products of this incest, rather than her husband King Robert. She reveals to Eddard Stark when he discovers the truth about her childrens' parentage she was pregnant with a child of Robert's once, but she had the child aborted out of hatred for her husband. In the TV series however, she says it to Catelyn Stark instead of Eddard and that the child died of a fever shortly after birth (most likely the babe smothered by Cersei).

The true parentage of her children was a well-guarded secret until Stannis Baratheon leads Hand of the King Jon Arryn to uncover it shortly before the beginning of the events of the first book. Stannis flees to allow Jon to draw his own conclusions, but Jon is murdered by poison, and his final words, "the seed is strong" hint at what he uncovered through investigation of Robert's bastard children.

Recent Events

A Game of Thrones

After the death of Jon Arryn, Cersei accompanies her husband, King Robert Baratheon to Winterfell. They attend the feast that is prepared for them and later when Robert and most of the castle go on a hunting trip, Cersei remains behind as does her brother Ser Jaime. The two are caught having sex by Bran Stark, and Jaime pushes him off a tower to avoid discovery.[5]

When Prince Joffrey is injured near Castle Darry while the royal procession travels back to King's Landing due to Joff's horrible demeanor, Arya Stark and her wolf attack and disarm him, Cersei wants the girl to lose a hand, the old penalty for someone striking a member of the royal blood. She argues with her husband Robert about it, but he refuses to allow the punishment. She does manage to force the new Hand, Lord Eddard Stark, into killing another direwolf.

When Tyrion is abducted by Catelyn Stark, Cersei argues with Robert, resulting in the King striking her. Eddard Stark, who is present, does not approve of his friend's action. Eddard, who had been appointed the Hand of the King, investigates into Jon Arryn's death and discovers the truth about the royal children's parentage. He confronts Cersei and she admits that it was true. Cersei then tries to seduce Eddard, but fails. Eddard gives her a chance to flee, but does this out of mercy, not wanting to see the children harmed. Cersei's reply was...[6]

"When you play the Game of Thrones you win or you die. There is no middle ground".

Cersei uses the time instead to arrange Robert's hunting "accident". She has her cousin Lancel, Robert's squire with whom she is sleeping as a replacement for Jaime, get her husband drunker than usual by giving him fortified stongwine. Robert is incapacitated, leading him to be fatally injured by a boar during the hunt. The morning after Robert dies Cersei seizes power, putting her 13-year-old son, Joffrey, on the throne, despite accusations of bastardy. She has Lord Eddard imprisoned and is named Queen Regent, heading Joffrey's small council.[7] However, Joffrey, as king, does not listen to his mother or his council, and foolishly has Lord Stark executed on the steps of the Great Sept of Baelor, making peace between Stark and Lannister impossible and deeply offending the Faith.[8]

A Clash of Kings

To end the foolish edicts made by King Joffrey and Cersei, Tywin promptly puts Tyrion in the position of Hand of the King until he can claim the seat himself. When Tyrion arrives in King's Landing, bearing a letter from their father naming him Hand of the King, Cersei nearly has him thrown in the dungeon before he placates her by saying he could rescue Jaime.[9] As Hand, Tyrion struggles to wrest control from her, finally resorting to poisoning her to ger her out of the way for a few days. He nullifies most of Cersei's decisions, recalling the Gold Cloaks who are killing off Robert's bastards at her behest.

In Jaime's absence, Cersei begins taking other lovers into her bed.[10] After Tyrion sends away her personal guard, she tries to employ three sellswords to replace them - Osney, Osmund and Osfryd Kettleblack - but Tyrion finds out and buys their loyalty.[11] The Kettleblacks are actually loyal to Petyr Baelish, but neither Cersei nor Tyrion figure this out.

Tyrion sends off Princess Myrcella to Sunspear in an effort to win over the Martells. Before doing so, his counter intelligence methods mean that Cersei's agent, Grand Maester Pycelle, is no longer a useful source against him. After Myrcella is sent off, Cersei is among those who is caught up in the Riot of King's Landing provoked by a thoughtless comment she makes to King Joffrey about a dead baby. Jaime later wonders if Varys had advance knowledge of the riot, since he wasn't there for it.

As King Stannis Baratheon moves on King's Landing, Cersei decided to get her son Tommen out of the city for safety, but Tyrion's men intercept the party and take Tommen into his custody. Fed up with Tyrion's efforts to rule, Cersei had Alayaya, a whore she believed Tyrion was sleeping with, arrested and beaten, and used her as a hostage in return for Tommen's safe return. She also removes Ser Boros Blount from the Kingsguard for his failure to resist Tyrion's men, although removing the cowardly Blount from the Kingsguard was considered one of her few wiser decision she replaces him with Osmund Kettleblack a man just as hollow [12].

As the battle for King's Landing begins, Cersei hosts a banquet for all the noblewomen in the Red Keep in an effort to keep their minds off the fighting, she says, but she invites Ser Ilyn the headman to be on hand to kill them off if the city is taken, to prevent them from becoming hostages. When she hears that the Mud Gate is under attack, she has Joffrey summoned back to the Red Keep.[13] Seeing the king flee back to the castle damaged morale and caused the men to rout, nearly costing her the city. This outrages Lancel Lannister, who feels they could have held the gates if Cersei hadn't recalled the King.[14] If not for the timely arrival and attack on Stannis's flank by the army of Tywin Lannister and Mace Tyrell, the battle would have been lost for the Lannisters.[15] Due to Tyrion's wounds, she is able lie to her father and turn her father's prejudice against Tyrion to her advantage.

A Storm of Swords

Tywin bends Cersei to his will and later makes it clear she is no longer wanted on the council and plans to marry her off again, either to Willas Tyrell, Balon Greyjoy or Oberyn Martell. After Joffrey offends Tywin through his ungracious behaviour, Tywin is furious and asks where the boy could have learnt such amoral sentiments, Cersei then tries to put it back onto Robert but it's clear to all in the room, including Kevan, that it is Cersei's belief system too [16]. Joff is killed at his own wedding feast and Cersei accuses her brother Tyrion and his wife, Sansa Stark, falsely believing them responsible [17]. Cersei names Ser Gregor Clegane champion if there is to be a trial by combat. This move, however, leads Oberyn Martell, whose sister was murdered by Gregor over a dozen years ago, to champion Tyrion [18]. Oberyn is killed in the duel, and Ser Gregor is fatally wounded [19].

A Feast for Crows

When her father Tywin is murdered, the checks on her claim to power are cleared. She resumes her position as Regent over her son, the eight-year-old King Tommen, who is entirely obedient to her will. As the eldest child of Tywin, she is also acknowledged as the Lady of Casterly Rock by her uncle Kevan. Thus empowered and unrestricted, Cersei feels she has the opportunity to prove herself an even better ruler than her father. She begins her new regime by filling all of the positions on Tommen's small council with her own supporters and agents, disregarding the previous arrangements made by Tywin and the well-meant, if blunt, advice from Kevan. She becomes a restless sleeper, troubled by nightmares of the Imp and the Iron Throne consuming her. [4]

Cersei grows to suspect that her powerful Tyrell allies, now relatives through Tommen's marriage to Margaery, are trying to seize control of the kingdom. This suspicion grows from a Tyrell coin found by Maester Qyburn in the dungeon where Tyrion was being held before his escape[2]. Since the reader knows the Tyrells had nothing to do with Tyrion's escape, the coin was likely planted by someone else - i.e., Varys - in the hopes of spreading discord in the Tyrell/Lannister alliance. If so, the plot seems to have worked, as Cersei commences a campaign of intrigue to remove all the Tyrells in King's Landing from positions of influence and authority, including her son's wife, Margaery, and Ser Loras, a member of the Kingsguard.[3] She befriends Taena Merryweather who informs Cersei that her maid Senelle is spying on her for Margaery. This leads Senelle to be given over to Qyburn for his twisted experiments. Taena becomes her bedwarmer and confidant.

Cersei's paranoia alienates Jaime, who abandons her to her political machinations.[20] She refuses to honor the debts owed by the Crown, angering powerful institutions such as the Iron Bank of Braavos and the Faith of the Seven.[21] This results in the Faith refusing to bless King Tommen, and the Iron Bank calling in all their debts throughout Westeros and refusing all new loans.[22] This causes economic chaos throughout the Seven Kingdoms. With the monies owed, Cersei constructs a new royal fleet of warships and gives command to Aurane Waters, the Bastard of Driftmark and a sellsail of questionable expertise and loyalty.[21] In an attempt to alleviate the crown's debts, gain the Faith's blessing, and gain more protection from her purported enemies, she allows the new High Septon (known as the High Sparrow) to revive the Faith Militant, ignorant of its history of causing trouble for monarchs.[22] She also takes the disgraced former maester Qyburn into her service, using him as a torturer, and allowing him to conduct immoral experiments on human subjects.[2] She also begins drinking heavily. She tries to manipulate Falyse Stokeworth and her husband into killing Tyrion's friend, the sellsword Bronn, who was knighted and married off to simple Lollys Stokeworth to pry him away from Tyrion. The plan goes horribly wrong however when Falyse's husband foolishly challenges Bronn to single combat, Falyse flees to Kings Landing to report that Bronn has killed her husband in a duel. Cersei responds by sending Falyse to Qyburn so nothing is found out about her machinations. Cersei's difficulty coping with the pressure of ruling lead to her beginning to drink heavily (something she often loathed her late husband Robert for) and begins to gain weight due to this but instead of realizing this blames the washer women for shrinking her gowns.

Cersei plans a plot to frame Margaery Tyrell for adultery and treason,and after seducing Osney Kettleblack has him falsely confess to the new High Septon that he had intercourse with Margaery and two of her three cousins. The High Septon acts on the information and has Margaery arrested when she visits the Sept. Cersei feigns concern publicly and visits the High Sept in order to appear to the population that she wishes Margaery released where in actual fact she does everything in her power to make sure Margaery will be found guilty.

However all of Cersei plans to remove the Tyrell influence at court backfire when the High Sparrow arrests her for several crimes, including the murder of the previous High Septon. The High Septon was suspicious of the confession of Osney Kettleblack and had him tortured till Osney revealed the actual truth. Her own ministers seize control of the government while she awaits trial in the Great Sept of Baelor. They recall her uncle Kevan to fill her position as Regent, while her new Lord Admiral, Aurane Waters absconds with the costly new fleet. Accused of capital crimes, her only hope lies in a Kingsguard champion to stand for her in a trial by combat. She sends an emotional summons to Jaime, which he burns and to which he does not reply.[23]

A Dance with Dragons

Cersei still remains a prisoner of the Faith. To try and gain access to visitors, Cersei decides to confess to the High Septon that she did have relations with her cousin Lancel Lannister and all three of the Kettleblack brothers, knowing that such sins would not earn her an execution. She continues to deny having ordered Osney Kettleblack to kill the previous High Septon, or that she was involved in King Robert's death. The High Septon agrees to allow her one visitor a day. Cersei then learns about Myrcella's injury and of Arys Oakheart's death, which leaves a vacancy in the Kingsguard. Cersei then sends word to Lord Qyburn that the time has come.[24]

Before her trial, the Faith requires Cersei to submit to a penance walk from the Great Sept of Baelor to the Red Keep. Cersei is shaved of hair from her entire body, then stripped naked. An escort of Warrior's Sons, Poor Fellows, and several septas protect her from the leering and jeering crowds that flocked to see her shame. Cersei breaks down in tears just before finishing and entering the Keep. Upon her entrance, Jocelyn Swyft has her body covered. Cersei is then carried into the castle by a silent eight-foot-tall knight covered head to heel in thick enamelled white plate, with a great helm concealing his face. Qyburn then appears and introduces Cersei to the newest member of the Kingsguard, "Ser Robert Strong," her champion.[25]

Cersei dines with her uncle, Ser Kevan, on the night of his death. She requests that Lady Taena Merryweather attend again her once her innocence is proved. When Kevan has no news of Jaime, Cersei seems certain of his safety. She believes that if he were dead, she would know it.[26]

Quotes about Cersei

Cersie is as gentle as King Maegor, as selfless as Aegon the Unworthy, as wise as Mad Aerys. She never forgets a slight, real or imagined. She takes caution for cowardice and dissent for defiance. And she is greedy. Greedy for power, for honour, for love.

Tyrion, on his sister, to Young Griff


His Sister liked to think of herself as Lord Tywin with teats, but she was wrong. Their father had been as relentless and implacable as a glacier, where Cersei was all wildfire, especially when thwarted...She does not lack for wits but she has no judgement, and no patience.

Jaime Lannister, on his sisters leadership skills.


She's been fucking Lancel and Osmund Kettleblack and probably Moon Boy for all I know.

Tyrion to Jaime.

Family

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tytos
 
Jeyne
Marbrand
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tywin
 
Joanna
Lannister
 
Kevan
 
Dorna
Swyft
 
Emmon
Frey
 
Genna
 
Tygett
 
Darlessa
Marbrand
 
Gerion
 
Briony
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Robert
Baratheon
 
Cersei
 
Jaime
 
Tyrion
 
Sansa
Stark
 
 
 
 
 
 
Issue
 
 
 
 
 
Tyrek
 
Ermesande
Hayford
 
Joy
Hill
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Joffrey
Baratheon
 
Myrcella
Baratheon
 
Tommen
Baratheon
 
Amerei
Frey
 
Lancel
 
Willem
 
Martyn
 
Janei
 
 
 

References and Notes