Robert Baratheon

Feared throughout the seven kingdoms for his strength and fearsomeness, Robert Baratheon got admired by many soldiers. However, others hated him for usurping House Targaryen, the rightful ruling house of the seven kingdoms. After Roberts’s rise to power, he got intoxicated by the extravagances of life and swerved from his duties as King. He became a drunk, fathered many bastards, and wrecked the economy of King’s Landing; this caused the seven Kingdoms to plunge into chaos and debt.

Profile Details about Robert Baratheon

Personal Appearance

Robert is a tall man with the classic Baratheon look of black hair and bright blue eyes. He towers above most of his mates. When he was a young man, he kept a clean-shaven face and had a muscular body that accentuated his strength. His hard rough hands gave him a better grip on weapons, heightening his fighting prowess. However, after defeating the Greyjoys in the Greyjoy Rebellion, he started gaining weight due to drinking. As a king, Robert becomes a slobby shadow of his former self. His face gets reddened from the excessive drinking, and he develops a double chin, which he hides underneath his beard.

Though a fearsome warrior, Robert lacks patience and calculative intellect. His reliance on brute force strength leads to his terrible political decisions, which plunge King’s Landing into chaos. Considered a fool by Varys and an ignorant, slow-witted brute by Cersei, he attracts the scorn of King’s Landing and the secret supporters of the Targaryens, who refer to him as the Usurper.

Back in his early days, Robert used a Warhammer, and was regarded as a mighty warrior. his warhammer was so heavy that only a few people could lift it. With his hammer, he wore an antlered helmet, which gave him the demeanor of a god or demon. After inciting a rebellion against the throne, his hatred for the Targeryens grew. After Aery’s death, he refused to charge Tywin Lannister and Gregor Clegane for murdering Elia and her little children, Rhaenys and Aegon Targaryen.

History

Robert Baratheon was born to Lord Steffon and Cassana Baratheon as the first-born son of the House Baratheon. Robert had to younger brothers, His first younger brother, Stannis Baratheon, was born two years later. While in his teens, Robert’s youngest brother, Renly Baratheon, was born. While still young, he traveled to the Eyrie in the Vale of Arryn, where he got fostered by Lord Jon Arryn. At the Vale, he met Eddard Stark, who became like a brother to him. He got knighted at Storm’s End. Upon entering manhood, Robert shared most of his time between the Vale and Storm’s End. In 278 AC, while standing on the walls of Storm’s End, he witnessed his parents’ ship get destroyed in a storm in Shipbreaker’s Bay.

As Robert Baratheon’s relationship with Ned Stark grew, he took a liking to Lyanna Stark, Eddard’s sister. He got betrothed to her but already had a bastard daughter called Mya Stone. At the 281 AC tourney in Harrenhal, he partook in the melee, and Prince of Dragonstone, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, the heir to the Iron Throne, won the joust. After winning, Prince Rhaegar crowned Lyanna, the queen of love and beauty, over his wife, Elia. The following year, Rhaegar Targaryen kidnapped Lyanna Stark.

Upon having his daughter kidnapped, Lord Rickard Stark and his first son, Brandon, travelled to King’s Landing to demand justice. However, King Aerys II Targaryen ordered them killed. After their murder, the Mad King (Aerys Targaryen) requested the heads of Robert Baratheon and Eddard Stark from Jon Arryn; this led to Jon raising arms against the throne.

With Ned (now Lord of Winterfell) rallying the North and Robert rallying the stormlands, a rebellion against the crown got incited. Though some of Jon Arynn and Robert’s men stayed loyal to the throne, Robert tried to march north to meet with Jon. However, his defeat at Randyll Tarly‘s hands led to him escaping to avoid capture. Acknowledging Robert’s Rebellion as a threat, Aerys replaced Lord Owen Merryweather with Jon Connington as the Hand of the King.

Leading a massive army, Connington chased after Robert into Stoney Sept, where he took refuge and got protected by the people. While hiding, Eddard and Jon Arryn’s rebel forces arrived, and a battle with Jon Connington ensued. Connington got defeated and almost got killed before escaping.

Eddard and Jon Arryn allied with House Tully by marrying Catelyn and her sister Lysa Tully. With the alliance, Robert stated his intentions of claiming the Iron Throne. Having the best claim with his Targaryen ancestry, Robert becomes the candidate for King.

In the last decisive battle, called the battle of the trident, Robert met Rhaegar Targaryen. After getting injured by the prince, Robert landed the killing blow to Rhaegar’s chest. Though wounded, he tried to chase after the remnant army of the Targaryens but failed. Instead, Eddard shared after them to King’s Landing, where he learned that Tywin Lannister had taken over the city. After Tywin delivered Elia and her children’s bodies, Eddard requested that the Lannister pay for their crime. When Robert refused, he left for Winterfell.

After Aerys’s murder at the hands of Ser Jaime Lannister, Robert Baratheon becomes the seventeenth ruler of the seven kingdoms, and is named King Robert I Baratheon. He chose Jon Arryn to become his Hand, and at his advice, and after Lyanna’s death he married Cersei Lannister, forging a bond with House Lannister. He also spared many loyalists of House Targaryen, including Barristan Selmy and Lord Varys. He made Varys the master of whisperers and Petyr Baelish the master of coin. After becoming King, he handed the Stormlands to his youngest brother, Renly, instead of Stannis, who was the rightful heir. He instead made Stannis Lord of Dragonstone, and Master of Ships on Robert’s small council.

Though peace returned after Stannis captured Dragonstone, the people of Dorne never forgot about the death of Elia and her children, Rhaenys and Aegon, and don’t acknowledge Robert’s claim.Though peace returned after Stannis captured Dragonstone, the people of Dorne never forgot about the death of Elia and her children, Rhaenys and Aegon.

Six years after the end of the war, Lord Balon Greyjoy of the Iron Islands declared independence from the Seven Kingdoms, with the ironborn destroying the Lannister fleet at Lannisport, and sacking Seagard to delay any attacks on their territory. Robert rallied a signifcant army and naval force to quell this rebellion. In a pitched battle at Pyke, the castle was taken and Balon Greyjoy was brought infront of King Robert wearing chains and was forced to swear fealty once more. Two of Balon’s sons died in the short war, and his youngest Theon Greyjoy, was taken as a hostage.

Relevance in A Song of Ice and Fire

A Game of Thrones

With the death of Jon Arryn, Robert Baratheon travels to Winterfell and meets Eddard Stark. He asks him to become the new Hand of the King, and after a discussion, Eddard agrees. Before leaving the castle, Cersei’s twin brother Ser Jaime Lannister throws Bran Stark from a tower after discovering him and his sister sleeping together.

Eddard travels with his daughters, Sansa and Arya Stark, to King’s Landing, and he assumes the title of the Hand of the King for King Robert. Before getting to the city, Joffrey gets injured after a fight with Arya, and her friend, Mycah, gets killed by Sandor Clegane. Upon convening a meeting with the small council after getting to King’s Landing, Ned learns that Robert’s excessive drinking, partying, and whoring habits have left King’s Landing in massive debt. Against Ned’s wishes, King Robert hosts a tourney celebrating his new Hand. With persuasion, Eddard and Ser Barristan Selmy prevent Robert from participating in the melee.

Robert calls the small council to court and reveals that Daenerys Targaryen got married to Khal Drogo and is pregnant with his child, according to Jorah Mormont. With advice from his brother, Renly, he tasks the council to assassinate her and her brother Viserys Targaryen. However, Eddard vehemently refuses the proposal and walks out of the throne room. Later, Robert reconciles with his friend.

Meanwhile, Eddard keeps investigating the death of Jon Arryn and realizes the former Hand was checking the lineage records before dying under mysterious circumstances. Eddard learns that Cersei’s children got fathered by her brother, Jaime. He confronts her about it, and she reveals she hates Robert. He tells her to leave the city before he takes action.

King Robert goes on a hunting trip in the woods with his brother, Renly, Joffrey, Sandor Clegane, and other nobles. Before the hunting, Lancel Lannister gives Robert a fortified strongwine which makes him request to face a wild boar alone; this leads to him getting injured and killed.

Appearance in Adaptations

In HBO’s Game of Thrones, Robert Baratheon’s character got portrayed by Mark Addy. His storyline in the show and novels were similar, and he died in episode seven of season one.

Robert Baratheon: The Warrior with an Addiction

Robert Baratheon’s character portrays perfectly how addictions and a lack of tactical reasoning can destroy even the greatest of warriors. Though Robert had many feats and victories, he got consumed by his addiction. A deeper dive into his character shows that Robert was never mentally prepared to rule a kingdom. As a free-spirited individual, the position of King ruined his mental stability and caused him to spiral into decadence.

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