who plays the king's wife in game of thrones
List of Game of Thrones characters Cersei Lannister (season 1â€“present) portrayed by Lena Headey. Cersei Lannister of House Lannister and House Baratheon, Queen of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, is the wife of King Robert Baratheon. Her father arranged the marriage when she was a teenager, initiating himself as a political counselor for King Robert. The Lannisters are the richest family in Westeros,[10] which is why Robert was interested in a marriage between them. Cersei has a twin brother, Jaime, with whom she has been involved in an incestuous affair from early childhood. All three of Cersei's children are Jaime's.[10] Cersei's main character attribute is her desire for power and her deep loyalty to her father, children, and brother Jaime. Cersei learns that her husband Robert is in danger of finding out that the children he sees as his heirs to the throne are not his. Robert meets his end as the result of a boar attack on a hunting trip, before Ned Stark tells him of the truth about his children. Cersei works quickly to instate her oldest son, Joffrey, on the throne, with her as his chief political advisor and Queen Regent.[11] Joffrey quits listening to his mother, and by the beginning of the second season her father decides Cersei does not exercise enough control over her son, and her father sends his youngest son Tyrion as an additional political advisor. Cersei and Tyrion do not get along, and constantly try to undermine each other's authority over the crown. As of the end of season 2, Tyrion has accumulated more sway over the Iron Throne, and has shipped Cersei's only daughter off against Cersei's will to be married to the prince of Dorne. In season 3, she takes pleasure in Tyrion's diminished position and taunts him for being forced into a marriage pact with Sansa Stark, only to be told by her father that he intends to marry her to Loras Tyrell. At the end of the season, the two siblings ponder at their respective marriages, and Cersei reunites with Jaime in her bedchamber as he unexpectedly returns from captivity. In season 4, she has Tyrion arrested after Joffrey is fatally poisoned. It is implied that she knows Tyrion's guilt is highly unlikely, but just wants to see him dead, though Jaime refuses to carry out the order.[12] Indeed, at Tyrion's trial, it is obvious that Cersei has manipulated the entire procedure so that the only witnesses (herself, Lord Varys, Meryn Trant, Grand Maester Pycelle and Shae) give either incomplete or entirely false testimonies to implicate Tyrion and Sansa further in the murder. When Tyrion demands a trial by combat, Cersei quickly chooses Ser Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane as her champion to diminish Tyrion's chances of acquittal, and has Bronn betrothed to a noblewoman so that Tyrion cannot choose him as his champion. Cersei's wish comes true when Tyrion's champion, Oberyn Martell, is killed by Clegane, but she still refuses to marry Loras, even threatening her father with revealing the truth about her relationship with Jaime and the parentage of her children. Tywin rebuffs her threats, though he himself is killed by an escaping Tyrion soon afterwards. Cersei attends Tywin's funeral and later orders a bounty on Tyrion's head. Cersei and Jaime receive a message from Dorne: a small viper statue with a necklace in its fangs. Cersei tells Jaime that the necklace belongs to their daughter, Myrcella, who was sent to Dorne by Tyrion. Jaime tells Cersei that he will travel to Dorne and bring Myrcella back. Cersei meets with two hunters who have brought her a severed head, though she is disappointed to find that it is not Tyrion's head. Qyburn lays claim to the head for his research and the two walk to a small council meeting. With the office of Hand of the King vacant, Cersei tells the council that she will stand in temporarily until Tommen chooses a new Hand. She appoints Mace Tyrell as the new Master of Coin and Qyburn as the new Master of Whisperers. When Cersei tries to appoint her uncle Kevan as the Master of War, he declines, telling her that as the queen mother she holds no power, and has no interest in serving in a council filled with her sycophants. In defiance of Cersei's "orders", Kevan states that he will return to Casterly Rock until he hears direct word from Tommen that he is required. Tommen soon weds Margaery Tyrell. Under Margaery's influence, Tommen drops hints that he would like Cersei to return to Casterly Rock, but she refuses, and confronts Margaery, who insults her. Cersei catches the High Septon being punished for entering a brothel by her cousin Lancel, who has become a member of the Faith Militant, an extremist group that worships the Seven. Cersei talks to their leader, the High Sparrow, and instates him as the new High Septon. The Faith Militant then aggressively puncture all barrels of wine and trash Petyr Baelish's brothel. They also arrest Margaery's brother Loras on the grounds of his homosexuality. Tommen, at Margaery's insistence, tries to get Cersei to release Loras, but Cersei swears she had nothing to do with it, After a trial, Loras is arrested after a prostitute named Olyvar testifies against Loras. Margaery is also arrested for lying about Loras' sexual orientation, and both are put in dungeons. All of this delights Cersei, who goes to see Margaery in her cell and brings her a bowl of venison stew. Cersei has one final talk with the High Sparrow about the accomplishments of the pair, but he soon reveals that Lancel has confessed everything (in Season 1, Cersei had sex with him in Jaime's absence). Cersei is subsequently arrested for adultery, incest, and murder (it was her plan to get Robert drunk so that he would injure himself while hunting). She is only visited in her cell by Qyburn, who tells her that Grand Maester Pycelle has seized power of the throne, and that Kevan is serving as hand of the king. Cersei is distraught to learn that Tommen, anguished over his wife's and mother's arrests, has not been eating. Cersei is also visited by a septa, who orders her to confess to her sins. Cersei refuses, and she is hit by the septa. Weakened, Cersei is forced to lick the water off the floors of the cell. She eventually agrees to reveal herself to the High Septon, confessing her incestuous relationship to Lancel Lannister but refusing to admit more serious offences, which would be harder for the Faith to prove. The High Sparrow allows her to leave captivity in favor of house arrest in the Red Keep, pending the trial, but only if she agrees to do "atonement" for her sins by being shaved and walking naked through the streets of King's Landing. Cersei endures the walk with great resolve, bleeding and covered in filth as she eventually reaches the Keep, where she reunites with her uncle Kevan, now Hand of the King, and Qyburn, who introduces her to the newest member of the Kingsguard, a freakishly large, silent giant implied to be the reanimated corpse of Gregor Clegane. In season 6, Cersei remains under house arrest and is not allowed to attend the funeral of Myrcella, who was ultimately killed by Ellaria Sand. Though her initial plan is to demand a trial by combat and name Gregor as her champion, she is foiled when Tommen falls under the control of the High Sparrow and abolishes the practice, stripping Cersei of her trump card. In desperation, Cersei has Qyburn look into an "old rumour", which turns out to be the Mad King's wildfire caches. On the day of her and Loras's trial, Cersei destroys the Great Sept of Baelor with the wildfire and kills hundreds of people, including Margaery, Loras, Mace Tyrell, Kevan, Lancel, the High Sparrow and the entire Faith Militant, and also has Grand Maester Pycelle killed in his chambers. With her enemies out of the way, Cersei crowns herself Queen and names Qyburn as her Hand. In Season 7 Cersei consolidates her position through alliances with the Tarlys and with Euron Greyjoy, who help her to capture Highgarden, destroy much of Daenerys' fleet and take revenge on Ellaria Sand and the Sand Snakes. She tells Jamie she is pregnant and it pleases him when she says that she will name him as the father. Cersei agrees to Tyrion's request for a parley with the Targaryen party, and is visibly shocked by the wight that has been brought south. She agrees to send a military force north to help the fight against the Army of the Dead, but reveals to Jamie that she has no intention of keeping her word. Jamie argues, and although Cersei threatens to have him killed she takes no action against him as he leaves her to go north.