Why didn't Cersei kill Robert sooner?

[Lady_Qohor]

Why do you think Cersei waited so long to kill Robert? Once she has Tommen, she's the queen mother of both the heir and the spare and is therefore fairly secure. We know that by this point she's fairly power hungry and hates Robert. Renly is also less of a threat the quicker she acts and is only 14 when Tommen is born. 

Do you think she was waiting to get Lannisters into key positions? Did she lack the nerve to go through with it until it was truly necessary? Or was there some other reason? 

(Or was she trying to arrange for an accidental drunken boar death all along but it just took years for the Kingswood boars to cooperate?) 

[Loose Bolt]

I suspect that Cersei knew that Tywin would not allow her to rule. Or I am almost sure that if Robert had died younger and her father did not had any other reasons to stay away from King's Landing first thing Tywin would do is that he would take over the government and somehow get rid of Cersei like making her to marry some VIP. So she had to wait until there was something important like potential war to keep him away b4 she could get rid of Robert.

[Jaenara Belarys]

1 minute ago, Loose Bolt said:

I suspect that Cersei knew that Tywin would not allow her to rule

True. I don't have anything against women ruling in their own right, but they should be a bit more like Catelyn than Cersei. Cersei's political strategy is called Have Sex With Everybody and Rule Stupidly In The Nonce. 

[Lady_Qohor]

1 hour ago, Jaenara Belarys said:

True. I don't have anything against women ruling in their own right, but they should be a bit more like Catelyn than Cersei. Cersei's political strategy is called Have Sex With Everybody and Rule Stupidly In The Nonce. 

Um...just to be clear I'm sure you don't have a problem with women ruling in their own right but...um...saying 'I don't have anything against women ruling in their own right' when no-one has accused you of this, makes it sound like subconsciously you have something against women ruling in their own right.

Again, I'm sure you don't but maybe just to be aware that bringing up phrases like that, unprompted, may raise flags with some people. It's like saying unprompted 'I have a lot of black friends' before criticizing a black character.

[Jaenara Belarys]

Hmmm. Good point. But what I was saying is, Cersei's style of ruling sucks. Now, Queen Catelyn (before the resurrection of course), that would probably be better. Or Arianne, or Margaery, or Dany.

[The hairy bear]

It's incorrect to assume that Cersei would be allowed to rule as regent if Robert died. Either Jon Arryn, as the Hand of the King, or Stannis Baratheon, as the closest kin to Joffrey from House Baratheon, would be the ones that would be expected to act as regents.

Killing Robert would likely had been a disastrous move by Cersei, as she would lose her ability to influence the the actual ruler, and whoever took the reigns would surely limit her capacity to influence Joffrey.

[Nathan Stark]

I really think Cersei was always gunning for the "death by boar" plan for killing Robert. It is exactly the kind of plan she would come up with, subtle, but so dependent on other things happening that it probably doesn't pan out. It was the same with her scheme to have him killed in the tourney of the Hand. It was fantastically good luck for Cersei that the boar plan even worked at all. One might see the hand of God *cough George*  in it.

[Canon Claude]

12 minutes ago, Nathan Stark said:

I really think Cersei was always gunning for the "death by boar" plan for killing Robert. It is exactly the kind of plan she would come up with, subtle, but so dependent on other things happening that it probably doesn't pan out. It was the same with her scheme to have him killed in the tourney of the Hand. It was fantastically good luck for Cersei that the boar plan even worked at all. One might see the hand of God *cough George*  in it.

That’s one thing I appreciate about Martin’s writing in a historical setting and utilizing human history to help bring his story to life. He is very aware that a lot of our history and progress was utterly dependent on chance. Things could have easily played out differently with just the tiniest of alterations. The Golden Horde’s invasion of Europe only stopped because  Ogadei Khan died of a heart attack, and the Mongols needed to go home in order to elect a new Great Khan. Imagine if he’d lived just half a year longer. Western Europe would never have been spared from the Mongols, and they would have been left just as much of a devastated shambles as Baghdad, China, and so many other places. Imagine if Columbus’ ship had sank two weeks after leaving port, for any number of reasons why ships sink. I could go on forever with this, heh.

[Nathan Stark]

7 minutes ago, Canon Claude said:

That’s one thing I appreciate about Martin’s writing in a historical setting and utilizing human history to help bring his story to life. He is very aware that a lot of our history and progress was utterly dependent on chance. Things could have easily played out differently with just the tiniest of alterations. The Golden Horde’s invasion of Europe only stopped because  Ogadei Khan died of a heart attack, and the Mongols needed to go home in order to elect a new Great Khan. Imagine if he’d lived just half a year longer. Western Europe would never have been spared from the Mongols, and they would have been left just as much of a devastated shambles as Baghdad, China, and so many other places. Imagine if Columbus’ ship had sank two weeks after leaving port, for any number of reasons why ships sink. I could go on forever with this, heh.

Yup. It is amazing how much George sets events up to turn in any direction. Robert being just a little less drunk survives the boar hunt. Stannis leaving Storms End just a few days earlier captures Kings Landing. Brienne gets to Saltpans just a few hours ealier to find Arya. Tyrion never notices Catelyn at the Crossroads Inn. So much of the plot hinges on little moments that might never have happened at all.

I was driving at a different point with Cersei though, in that I think she outsmarts herself far more than she gets things right. She is not as smart as she thinks she is.

[Jaenara Belarys]

35 minutes ago, Nathan Stark said:

I really think Cersei was always gunning for the "death by boar" plan for killing Robert.

Why that? She could've done a bunch of other hunting accidents. The FM are expensive, but since you have Casterly Rock it should be possible.

[Nathan Stark]

2 minutes ago, Jaenara Belarys said:

Why that? She could've done a bunch of other hunting accidents. The FM are expensive, but since you have Casterly Rock it should be possible.

It boils down to Cersei not being all that competent. Or even especially smart.

[Jaenara Belarys]

True. 

[Aebram]

I see a different explanation.  As long as Cersei's incest, and the identity of her kids' real father, remained a secret, she was reasonably content with her life as Robert's queen.  She arranged the murder of Jon Arryn only because he had found out about the incest.  But Jon had told Stannis, and then Ned Stark figured it out ... At some point, it was no longer practical for her to kill everyone who knew. It was easier to just have Robert killed, so that Joffrey could become King and use his authority to protect her.

 

[John Suburbs]

4 hours ago, Lady_Qohor said:

Why do you think Cersei waited so long to kill Robert? Once she has Tommen, she's the queen mother of both the heir and the spare and is therefore fairly secure. We know that by this point she's fairly power hungry and hates Robert. Renly is also less of a threat the quicker she acts and is only 14 when Tommen is born. 

Do you think she was waiting to get Lannisters into key positions? Did she lack the nerve to go through with it until it was truly necessary? Or was there some other reason? 

(Or was she trying to arrange for an accidental drunken boar death all along but it just took years for the Kingswood boars to cooperate?) 

We don't know that she didn't try. It's not enough to kill the king, you have to do it with clean hands. She did use reverse psychology to get him to join the melee, so there might have been other attempts along these lines at previous tourneys.

By the time of the boar hunt, however, she knew that it was now or never.

 

[Nathan Stark]

23 minutes ago, Aebram said:

I see a different explanation.  As long as Cersei's incest, and the identity of her kids' real father, remained a secret, she was reasonably content with her life as Robert's queen.  She arranged the murder of Jon Arryn only because he had found out about the incest.  But Jon had told Stannis, and then Ned Stark figured it out ... At some point, it was no longer practical for her to kill everyone who knew. It was easier to just have Robert killed, so that Joffrey could become King and use his authority to protect her.

 

It was Littlefinger and Lysa who murdered Jon Arryn, not Cersei.

[Lord Lannister]

A 5 year old Joffrey would almost certainly result in someone being named Regent that isn't Cersei.

[Bowen 747]

It's not as if killing Robert would allow her to marry Jaime.  Robert was a pain but easily cuckolded.  She would not have had it so easy with someone like Stannis. 

[Aebram]

20 hours ago, Nathan Stark said:

It was Littlefinger and Lysa who murdered Jon Arryn, not Cersei.

Yes, but why?  We know Lysa wasn't fond of her husband, but murdering him is a pretty extreme solution, and out of character for a timid, weak-willed person.  Surely it's not a coincidence that Jon was killed just when he wss about to reveal Cersei's dark secret.

[Jaenara Belarys]

2 minutes ago, Aebram said:

and out of character for a timid, weak-willed person.

She's stupid, timid and weak-willed. She was manipulated by LF to put the Tears of Lys into his food or drink. I was actually kind of happy that LF tossed her out the Moon Door, because she's so annoying. And she spoils her brat of a son.

 Just my opinion on Lysa Arryn 

[CamiloRP]

2 hours ago, Aebram said:

Yes, but why?  We know Lysa wasn't fond of her husband, but murdering him is a pretty extreme solution, and out of character for a timid, weak-willed person.  Surely it's not a coincidence that Jon was killed just when he wss about to reveal Cersei's dark secret.

It wasn't a coincidence, it aided LF's game, making conflict between Lannisters and Starks. Also, in her mind she didn't murder him because she hated him, tho that probably helped, she murdered him so that she could be with LF and, more importantly, so that SR wasn't taken away from her.