Margaery Tyrell is a member of House Tyrell and is the only daughter of Lord Mace Tyrell, the Lord of Highgarden. After becoming Tommen Baratheon’s wife, she becomes popular among the smallfolk of King’s Landing; this leads to extreme paranoia for Queen Regent Cersei Lannister. To prevent Margaery from taking her spot as Queen, Cersei allows the High Sparrow to revive the Faith Militant, an organization outlawed for its extremism. Thinking the Faith would arrest Margaery alone, Cersei falls into troubled waters as Ser Lancer Lannister comes forward to testify against her deeds.
Margaery Tyrell Personal Details
- Name: Margaery Tyrell.
- Year of Birth: 283 AC in Highgarden.
- Parents: Lord Mace Tyrell and Lady Alerien Hightower.
- Siblings: Willas Tyrell, Garlan Tyrell, Loras Tyrell.
- Allegiances: House Tyrell, House Baratheon of King’s Landing.
- Aliases: Little Rose, Little Queen, Maid Margaery.
- Titles: Queen Consort, Lady.
- Culture: Reach.
- Religion: Faith of the Seven.
- Husbands: Renly Baratheon, Joffrey Baratheon, Tommen Baratheon.
- Hair Color: Brown.
- Eye Color: Brown.
Appearance and Personality
Margaery is a beautiful slender-framed girl with a womanly figure and soft pale skin. She has thick and soft curling hair with large brown eyes. Cersei considers her to look more like her brother Loras than she and her twin Jaime Lannister. She has a sweet shy smile and is as comely as Sansa Stark.
Margaery is an intelligent and cunning girl. She is incredibly calculating and acts with caution in everything she does. Her mentor Olenna Tyrell taught her how to fend for herself to prevent others from taking advantage of her. Though she got loved by the small folk of King’s Landing, Cersei hates Margaery and calls her restless as she is never in one place. For her attire, Margaery wears sheer gowns mostly made with ivory silk, seed pearls, and Myrish Lace. She also wears a tight-laced pale green samite gown that exposes parts of her shoulders and bosom.
Relevance in A Song of Ice and Fire
A Game of Thrones
After the death of Lord Jon Arryn, Lord Eddard Stark becomes the hand of the King. When the Hand’s Tourney gets held, Lord Renly Baratheon approaches Ned and shows him a locket with a picture of Margaery Tyrell inside. He asks Ned if Margaery looks like Lyanna Stark as he and Loras were planning to supplant Cersei as Queen. However, Lord Ned disagrees that Margaery looks like his sister. Later, King Robert Baratheon tells Ned about Loras’s sister, a girl who is as lovely as the dawn. However, before he meets her, Robert gets caught in an accident and dies. When Ned tries to take the throne, he gets sentenced to death for treason.
A Clash of Kings
With Robert’s injury, Renly flees King’s Landing. With help from Loras, he declares himself King and marries Margaery Tyrell. When Catelyn Stark travels to Bitterbridge, she meets Margaery, who offers her condolences for her husband’s death. Later, word reaches Renly that Stannis has besieged Storm’s End. When he travels to stop the siege, he gets killed by a shadow assassin. On learning of Renly’s death, Tyrion sends Lord Petyr Baelish to Bitterbridge to negotiate an alliance between House Lannister and Tyrell. Petyr succeeds, and Margaery gets promised to King Joffrey.
A Storm of Swords
After getting promised to Joffrey, Margaery travels to King’s Landing with her cousins and the daughters of her father’s bannermen, including Lady Alysanne Bulwer, Elinor Tyrell, Alla Tyrell, Megga Tyrell, Lady Meredyth Crane, Lady Alyce Graceford, and Septa Nysterica. Before arriving at the city, Mace Tyrell sends food to King’s Landing in his daughter’s name; this lead to her getting cheered for by the smallfolk.
Margaery invites Sansa to supper, and Olenna questions her on Joffrey’s character. Though Sansa lies initially, she breaks down and opens up about how cruel Joffrey has been to her. Olenna calls Joff a pity and tells Sansa about traveling to Highgarden after Joffrey’s wedding to Margaery to marry her to Willas Tyrell. When Petyr learns of Lady Olenna’s plan, he tells Lord Tywin Lannister, who weds Tyrion to Sansa.
Joffrey and Margaery get married on the first day of the new century at the Great Sept of Baelor. At the wedding feast, Joffrey mocks Tyrion. Later, he dies from choking on poison in his wedding chalice. After his death, Cersei accuses Tyrion of killing her son, and he gets arrested. Meanwhile, during the commotion, Sansa gets smuggled out of King’s Landing to meet Petyr Bealish, who reveals that Olenna planned Joff’s death to prevent Margaery’s brother Loras Tyrell from killing the King because of his sister’s maltreatment.
After Joffrey’s death, Tommen becomes King, and the Tyrells pressure Lord Tywin Lannister to wed Margaery to Tommen. Though he tries to marry Jaime to Margaery, the knight refuses and tells Tywin that Tommen loves having Margaery around. Later, Jaime frees Tyrion, and while he flees from King’s Landing, Tyrion sneaks into the Tower of the Hand and kills his father.
A Feast for Crows
Margaery attends the funeral of Lord Tywin Lannister. After the service, she and Tommen get married in a small ceremony at the Royal Sept. Though Tommen is too young to consummate his wedding, he and his new wife share a bed but get watched by Jaime Lannister on orders of Cersei. The Queen Regent asks for Taena and learns about Margaery. Cersei’s hatred for the young Queen grows as her popularity among the small folk increases.
Margaery and Tommen grow closer to each other as she gifts her husband three black kittens. The young Queen also invites Tommen on trips, but his mother refuses to let him attend; this makes Tommen fall out with Cersei. Believing Margaery is stealing her son from her, Cersei plans to arrest Margaery for infidelity.
On advice from his wife, Tommen tries to sit on the Iron Throne and hold court. However, his mother prevents him from sitting on the throne. Ser Loras asks to take Dragonstone for the Iron Throne, and after Cersei gives him the go-ahead, he is successful. However, he gets wounded severely, and MArgaery learns the news. She then brings Tommen to the Sept to pray for her brother.
With King’s Landing in economic ruin, Cersei allows the High Sparrow to revive the Faith Militant to forgive the crown’s debt. She then conspires against Margaery and has her accused of fornication; this leads to the young Queen’s arrest. On learning of his daughter’s arrest, Mace leaves the Reach and marches to King’s Landing. Meanwhile, the small folk gather outside the Sept and chant Margaery’s name. Later, the High Sparrow releases the young Queen as the evidence against her is insufficient. Cersei instead gets arrested on counts of adultery and conspiracy.
A Dance with Dragons
Margaery and her cousins get released into Lord Randyll Tarly’s hands. Though the Golden Company has begun attacking in the Stormlands, Mace refuses to leave King’s Landing until after his daughter’s trial. With Cersei imprisoned, Ser Kevan Lannister becomes the Lord Regent. When Mace asks for Tommen to declare Margaery innocent, Kevan refuses, stating it would hurt her image forever.
Appearance in Adaptation
In HBO’s Game of Thrones, Natalie Dormer portrayed Margaery Tyrell. She appeared in seasons 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 and starred in 26 episodes. After Sandor (Rory Mccann) runs away from the Battle of the Black Water, the Tyrells and Lannisters arrive to save Tyrion from Stannis. With Stannis’s defeat, Margaery gets married to Joffrey. However, at the wedding, the King gets poisoned and dies.
Margaery marries Tommen, and Cersei increasingly gets angry at their union. She conspires against Margaery and has her arrested by the Faith. However, the plan backfires, and Cersei gets arrested. After the walk of shame, Cersei arranges for the destruction of the Great Sept. She uses wildfire to destroy the Sept, and on realizing what happened, Tommen kills himself.
Margaery Tyrell: The Smart Maiden
Margaery is among the most intelligent girls in A Song of Ice and Fire. She never allowed anyone to take advantage of her. However, even though she was cunning, she was also kind and had a good heart.
FAQs
Is Margaery more beautiful than Cersei?
Yes. When Cersei was in her youth, she was the prettiest girl in the Seven Kingdoms. However, three children later, her beauty began fading, and coupled with the weight she gained from drinking, she was no longer on the same level as Margaery, who had just entered her prime.
How smart is Margaery?
The Rose of Highgarden is more intelligent than Cersei, who believes herself to be the female Tywin. Because the young Queen learned from her grandmother Olenna, she knew how to defend herself and prevent others from taking advantage of her.
Did Margaery love Tommen?
Because Tommen was a genuinely loving boy, Margaery cared about him. However, it is impossible to say if she loved him as he was a ticket for her to become Queen.
Did Margaery love her brother?
Yes. Margaery truly loved Loras. She cared about him and would choose him over everyone. She wept and prayed for his recovery when she learned he got severely injured at Dragonstone.
