Neds letter to Stannis

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

but how did stannis know about cersei's children then? also, iirc from the books, he says smth about not repeating lord stark's mistake by sending the letter only to one lord, thus sending the letters to every lord of import in the seven kingdoms.

He says that on THE SHOW. In the books, Stannis is actually the one who tips off Arryn. He knows about Cersei's kids without Ned telling him.

And Stannis is offered up as a possibility among Robb and his bannermen, and they reject him and crown Robb anyway.

Others take Ned's letter to Stannis . Where the hell is the letter Ned wrote before his death and gave to Varys to deliver?

Didn't he not end up sending it at all, because Varys admitted that he'd read it?

[TheDorkKnight]

Ned really should have sent numerous letters to different lords, telling them to stand by Stannis. It would have saved everyone a lot of trouble

[Artos Stark]

I don't think Stannis ever received the letter. Even if he had I think we would see the usual Stannis hubris where he would say something like "I shouldn't have to ask for help, I am the rightful king and they should want to bend the knee and come to my aid" even though an alliance with Robb and the Northmen would have been to his benefit and helped him to gain the throne. This is a huge reason why I have never really thought that Stannis would makea great king.

[Independent George]

The letter never got to Stannis. Stannis is the one who brought his suspicions to Jon Arryn in the first place.

GOT, Chapter 51 ("Sansa"):

"No," Sansa blurted. "He wouldn't do that. He wouldn't!"

The queen picked up a letter. The paper was torn and stiff with dried blood, but the broken seal was her father's the direwolf stamped in pale wax. "We found this on the captain of your household guard, Sansa. It is a letter to my late husband's brother Stannis, inviting him to take the crown."

COK, Chapter 31 ("Catelyn")

"Lord Stannis," she asked, "if you knew the queen to be guilty of such monstrous crimes, why did you keep silent?"

"I did not keep silent. I brought my suspicions to Jon Arryn."

"My brother's regard for me was never more than dutiful," said Stannis. "From me, such accusations would have seemed peevish and self-serving, a means of placing myself first in the line of succession. I believed Robert would be more disposed to listen if the charges came from Lord Arryn, whom he loved."

[DarkAndFullOfTurnips]

I don't think Stannis ever received the letter. Even if he had I think we would see the usual Stannis hubris where he would say something like "I shouldn't have to ask for help, I am the rightful king and they should want to bend the knee and come to my aid" even though an alliance with Robb and the Northmen would have been to his benefit and helped him to gain the throne. This is a huge reason why I have never really thought that Stannis would makea great king.

To be fair, Ned himself would probably tell Robb that Stannis was the rightful king and thus support him.

[Gannicus]

Others take Ned's letter to Stannis . Where the hell is the letter Ned wrote before his death and gave to Varys to deliver?

Wasn't that a different letter? I assumed he was going to give Varys a letter to send to Jon.

[rejndjer]

To be fair, Ned himself would probably tell Robb that Stannis was the rightful king and thus support him.

yes, just imagine if only ned sent ONE letter to robb, telling him to support stannis. but then again there wouldn't be 7 books but 1 or 2 in that case so..

[Arcvalons]

Actually, Stannis does figure out the real reason why Ned was arrested and executed fairly early in Clash of Kings, he did flee King's Landing because he feared for his safety after Jon Arryn's death (him knowing the secret too). The exact line was something like "I know Ned was honorouble, he wouldn't have tried to usurp the throne, it's all Lannister lies because he actually supported me". Sorry for necro.

[MRHD]

It's a shame Stannis never got that letter; he respected that Ned was honourable but I don't think he had any love for the Starks, it would have been nice for him to have realised Ned fully supported his claim and right to the throne, but as mentioned; he didn't get the letter (at least I'm almost certain)

The what-if I dwell on the most is what would have happened had Ned's support for Stannis become widely known. Would that have swayed the North and Riverlands to support him? If those two had declared for Stannis, would Renly have been so quick to dismiss his brother's claim? We could have ended up with a very different war. As a Stannis supporter, I can only sigh.

[Dragonmag170]

I am actually going to post a topic about Ned later- there are a bunch of inconsistencies and contradictions in his last few chapters that are very, very odd. Something's up with him by the end.

The reason Stannis never showed the letter to the northmen was because he saw them as being in open rebellion, and refused to ally with rebels who would not bend the knee for him on a whim.