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Why did the Mad King want Robert dead in the beggining after he killed Ned's Father?


TheColdWinds

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I know the MK wanted Robert dead but i thought that was after Robert rebelled. However, i read that the MK demanded that Jon Aryn send him Ned's and Robert's heads when they were both in the vale. Just after Neds father and brother were killed. I can see why he wanted Neds, but why Robert's head at that time? He was Lord of the Stormlands, why would the MK think he would rebel becasue some northman were killed? Im guessing he wanted him dead because of Robert's close realtionship with Ned, and Lyanna going missing. But the MK would never have know how Robert would react. Until, Robert actually does rebel. So my question is why did the MK want Robert's head at the exact moment after Rickon and Brandon Stark were killed?

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Aerys almost certainly knew of his betrothal to Lyanna, and certainly that both Robert and Eddard grew up together as Jon Arryn's wards. That's a very strong association to the Stark family - even a mad less paranoid than the Mad King would have considered it highly unlikely that he would side with the Targaryens should the North go into rebellion. The best he could reasonably hope for was that Baratheon remained neutral as long as Robert led them. Should Stannis inherit, the situation would have been totally different.

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Robert spoke out against Rhaegar, Prince of Dragonstone and heir to the Iron Throne. This, in an of itself, was a punishable offense during Targaryen era Westeros. The Royal Family were beyond reproach and were believed to be chosen by the Seven to rule over the Kingdoms. Divine Right. To question the decisions of the Targaryens was to question the authority of the Seven.

Also, as others have said, the Mad King, with Varys whispering in his ear, knew that Robert, Ned and Jon Arryn were very close...too close. With the deaths of Rickard and Brandon, Robert and Ned needed to be neutralized before a rebellion could take root. When Jon refused to turn over the two men and call his banners against the King the war had officially began.

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  • 3 months later...

I too found this a little odd but it makes sense of course given that Lyanna was betrothed to Robert and that Robert, Ned, and Jon Arryn were very close. A lot of people like to chalk it up to him being mad, but I find it odd that even Aerys didn't take into consideration that Robert's grandmother was a Targaryen. I'm a bit surprised that Robert and Rhaegar weren't at all close given that Aerys was fairly close to Steffon Baratheon. Aerys and Steffon were close enough that Aerys sent his first cousin across the Narrow Sea to find prospective brides for Rhaegar.

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1.The mad king was, well, mad

2. He was betrothed to lyanna, so the stormlands would rebel even if he was alive

3. He's great friends with ned, so he'd wanted to avenge him and his families loss

Plus let's face it, who knows what Aerys had thought in regard to Rhaegar. To protect him against a foe ? Or to set him up to fight that foe ?

Hard to tell with a crazy person.

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No, in fact, Varys was the one who urged Mad King Aerys to open the city to Tywin, knowing full well the result.

No, that was Pycelle.

Pycelle’s breathing was rapid and shallow. “All I did, I did for House Lannister.” A sheen of sweat covered the broad dome of the old man’s brow, and wisps of white hair clung to his wrinkled skin. “Always . . . for years . . . your lord father, ask him, I was ever his true servant . . . ‘twas I who bid Aerys open his gates . . .”

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