Death of King Robert

King Robert Baratheon, the first of his name, died on the third day after being gored by a wild boar while hunting in the kingswood. The wound, a hideous tear from groin to nipple, had mortified by the time he was carried back to the Red Keep. His death, which occurred in the early hours of the morning, plunged the Seven Kingdoms into a succession crisis and sealed the fate of his Hand, Eddard Stark.

The Hunt and the Wound

Robert had been hunting for two days when his party flushed a monstrous boar from its lair. Against the advice of his lords and the Kingsguard, the king commanded them to stand aside and take the beast alone. He was reeling in his saddle from drink, and his thrust went awry. The boar ripped him open with its tusks before Robert drove a knife through its eye. Lord Renly Baratheon and the other hunters found the king with his entrails sliding from his belly, yet still alive. They brought the carcass back with them at Robert's command, for the feast he would not live to attend.

The King's Last Wishes

As he lay dying, Robert summoned Eddard Stark to his bedside. The king's face was pale as milk, and the stench of death filled the room. He dictated his final will, naming Eddard Stark as Lord Regent and Protector of the Realm to rule until his heir came of age. Robert scrawled his signature blindly, leaving a smear of blood across the letter, and pressed his seal into the hot yellow wax with Lord Renly and Grand Maester Pycelle as witnesses. In his last hours, the king also recanted his earlier order to have Daenerys Targaryen killed, telling Ned, "The girl. Daenerys. Let her live. If you can, if it's not too late." He asked Ned to help his son Joffrey, to make him better than himself. Before he closed his eyes for the last time, Robert whispered that he would give Lyanna Stark his love, and asked Ned to take care of his children.

The Circumstances of the Death

Varys the eunuch later revealed that the king's death was not mere accident. Cersei Lannister had provided the wineskins to Robert's squire, Lancel Lannister, knowing that a drunken king would be reckless. The boar was merely the instrument; the murder was orchestrated by the queen to free her hands to deal with Robert's brothers, Stannis and Renly, and to secure the throne for her son Joffrey. As Varys told Ned, "It was not wine that killed the king. It was your mercy." Ned had warned Cersei that he would tell Robert the truth of her children's parentage, giving her the motive and the opportunity to strike first.

Consequences and Aftermath

Robert's death was announced by the slow, mournful tolling of bells across King's Landing. The king's body was laid out, and the small council convened to hear his final words. Eddard Stark produced the letter naming him Protector, but Cersei Lannister tore it in half, declaring that they had a new king now. The power struggle that followed led directly to Ned's arrest, the slaughter of his household guard, and ultimately his execution on the steps of the Great Sept of Baelor. Robert's death also emboldened his brothers: Renly Baratheon claimed the crown, wedding Margaery Tyrell and gathering the power of Highgarden and Storm's End, while Stannis Baratheon brooded on Dragonstone, preparing his own claim. The realm, which Robert had held together through sheer force of personality, fractured into war.