Who is the heir to the Iron Throne in Game of Thrones? All the claimants from Jon Snow to Daenerys Targaryen
GAME of Thrones wouldn't be nearly as exciting if there weren't so many people vying for power.
From the myriad of different dynasties desperate to claim the throne to the many people manipulating events behind the scenes, it can get pretty confusing. So here's a run-down of the most important claims to the Iron Throne - which includes spoilers for season 7.
Why are so many Game of Thrones characters claiming the Iron Throne?
The confusion surrounding who should rule the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros is down to Cersei Lannister and Robert Baratheon.
Supporters of the Targaryen dynasty see the dead King Robert as a "usurper" who did not deserve to rule.
As he took the throne by defeating the Mad King Aerys Targaryen, plenty of people think he has robbed the throne from a more deserving member of the Targaryen clan.
But there's confusion surrounding Robert's heir as well.
His son Joffrey Baratheon would have been his natural heir - except Joffrey was actually the biological son of Jaime and Cersei Lannister, by incest, as was his brother Tommen who succeeded him.
So the real heir might be one of Robert's brothers (both dead) or a biological son elsewhere... it's very hard to say.
Who are the key characters who have claimed?
Cersei Lannister
Queen Cersei is the less-than-benevolent ruler sitting on the Iron Throne at this current juncture in Game of Thrones - though given the high turnover, who knows how long she will be able to last.
Cersei found herself on the throne when her son Tommen threw himself off the red keep when she blew up his wife in the Sept of Baelor.
However, neither Tommen nor his elder brother Joffrey had a legitimate claim to the throne after Robert Baratheon died, as they were born of incest between Cersei and her brother Jaime Lannister, and were not actually related to the King.
Now that she's dropped her baby bombshell on Jaime, that child could be her successor - but it might not be accepted by the public.
Stannis and Renley Baratheon
Robert Baratheon's brothers Stannis and Renley got wind of the fact that Joffrey and Tommen weren't his legitimate children, and pretty quickly launched their respective campaigns to be King.
Stannis was the older of the two brothers, so by all rights had the stronger claim, but Renley told his brother he was not inspirational enough to lead.
In the end, Stannis used magic to kill Renley before launching a failed offensive on King's Landing at the Battle of the Blackwater.
He then started campaigning to get more lords to follow him, but foolishly decided to try and take Winterfell from Ramsay Bolton, and was roundly defeated before being killed by Renley's former Kingsguard, Brienne of Tarth.
Daenerys Targaryen
Daenerys is the last Targaryen who could rule Westeros from the Iron Throne.
She is the youngest child of the Mad King Aerys Targaryen, who was unseated from the throne by Robert Baratheon decades ago.
Her brother Rhaegar was killed during the uprising at the Battle of the Trident, while Viserys was killed by her husband Khal Drogo when he poured molten gold onto his head.
After impressing her subjects in cities across Essos, she has returned to her birthplace in Westeros in the hope of taking the throne from Cersei.
Who else could claim?
Gendry
When the news got out that Joffrey and Tommen might not be Robert Baratheon's real children, the Lannisters made sure all of his bastard children were killed - but they missed Gendry.
Some fans have speculated he could have the strongest claim to succeeding King Robert as his biological son - but it could be more complicated.
In the first instance, Gendry was never acknowledged by Robert Baratheon - hence him having no surname.
He would have received the surname Waters in the same way Jon Snow got his surname, if his father had accepted that he was his child.
Equally, for an illegitimate child to inherit a title, they usually have to be legitimised, as when Roose Bolton made Ramsay an official member of their family.
Plus from what we know about Gendry, it seems unlikely he'd want to be ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.
Jon Snow
He's already the King in the North, but Jon Snow could end up being the King of Everything if his true heritage gets out.
Ned Stark told everyone that Jon was his illegitimate son, but it turns out he was just trying to protect his nephew.
Jon is actually the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen, making him Daenerys's nephew and Sansa and Arya's cousin.
And Gilly's night-time reading during season 7 episode 5 revealed that Rhaegar and Lyanna were actually married, making Jon the legitimate heir to the Targaryen dynasty, above Daenerys.
Now that he's metaphorically bent the knee to his aunt, he might not have any aspirations towards leading, but Jon still has one of the strongest claims of the show.
