On his deathbed, King Robert I Baratheon dictates his will to his Hand and old friend, Lord Eddard Stark. He commands Ned to rule in his stead as Lord Regent and Protector of the Realm until his son, Joffrey comes of age. Having found out that the king has no trueborn sons, Ned replaces Joffrey's name on the will with "rightful heir." Robert signs, they bid goodbye and the war for the Iron Throne in Game of Thrones ripens. Before this went down, the honorable Ned foolishly chose to tell shrewd Queen Cersei Lannister that he had learned the truth about her children's birth, in that, they were fathered by her brother, Jaime Lannister, and not the king. In doing so, Ned essentially signed his own death warrant because there was no way Cersei would let him walk unharmed. Neither would she give up the throne to Robert's younger brother and now the rightful heir, Stannis Baratheon.
Ned's plan is simple, he writes to Lord Stannis, calls Baelish to his chambers, and tells him he plans to gain control of the Gold Cloaks (the City Watch) who are two thousand strong and sworn to defend the king's peace. Since the Queen commands a dozen knights and a hundred men at arms, he needs men of the Watch because otherwise he will be overwhelmed. Baelish suggests Ned make peace with the Lannisters, but the Valyrian steel dagger nearby reminds him that the Lannisters tried to murder his boy. He's made up his mind - it will be Stannis and war. In the meanwhile, Baelish who is abreast of every detail goes, "When the Queen proclaims one King and the Hand proclaims another, whose peace do the Gold Cloaks protect?" Towards the end of Game of Thrones season 1, episode 7 "You Win or You Die," he tells Ned that he will buy the loyalty of the Gold Cloaks and moments later, assures him that the City Watch is his.
Who Are The Five Kings?
Ned thinks the Iron Throne should pass to the next in line, Stannis, but the youngest, Renly Baratheon has plans of his own. As King Robert breathes his last, he lays claim to the Iron Throne. He wants to put a hundred swords at Ned's command and seize the throne for himself. Renly wants to strike while the castle is asleep and seize Joffrey from his mother. "Protector of the Realm or no, he who holds the king holds the kingdom," he declares. Ned brushes him off saying Stannis is his older brother and that the throne is his. In the end, Renly flees the city with Ser Loras Tyrell and some fifty retainers. Shortly after, Joffrey proclaims himself as king and summons Ned to the throne room to declare for him. When Ned refuses, he and his guard are ambushed by the men of the City Watch who'd earlier assured him they were under his control. At this point in Game of Thrones' "You Win or You Die," Baelish holds the Valyrian steel dagger to Ned's throat and goes, "I did warn you not to trust me." Ned is imprisoned within the Black Cells and Joffrey's reign begins.
The five kings include Robert's heir apparent, Joffrey, and his younger brothers, Stannis and Renly. The other two kings want nothing to do with the Iron Throne, but instead declare independence of their kingdoms. They are Ned's eldest child, Robb Stark (King in the North), and Balon Greyjoy who declared himself as King of the Iron Islands. While the incompetent and pompous, Joffrey thinks the throne is rightfully his, Stannis is King Robert's true heir. Renly's claim rests on the assertion that his older brother inspires no love, and he's better suited to rule. Robb Stark calls the banners in Game of Thrones season 1, episode 8 "The Pointy End" in response to Joffrey imprisoning Ned for treason. He prepares to lead a host to war as news of Ned's arrest reaches him. While Joffrey ascends to the Iron Throne, he bestows his loyalists with rewards, names Tywin Lannister as his Hand, and Jaime Lannister as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.
The Large-Scale Intricate War
In Game of Thrones season 1, episode 9 "Baelor," Ned's wife, and Robb's mother, Catelyn Stark goes to Lord Walder Frey to persuade him to open his gates to Robb and his bannermen, so they can cross the Trident. Frey grants the crossing and his men on condition that Robb marry any one of his daughters after the fighting, and Arya marry his son, Waldron when both are of age. The Northerners gear up for war as soon as the news of Ned's execution reaches them. In Game of Thrones season 1, episode 10 "Fire and Blood," while debating whether to declare for Stannis or Renly, Greatjon Umber says the North was bound to the dragons, and with them gone, they need to reassert their independence. "There sits the only king I mean to bend my knee to; The King in the North!" he kneels before Robb. Soon others join him and Robb is proclaimed King in the North.
The realm remains fractured between the Lannisters who have control of the throne through their puppet king and Stannis and Renly who also claim the throne. Robb Stark's war starts off great, but he angers Walder Frey by breaking his oath and marrying Talisa. Eventually, the two parties strike a new alliance, and a marriage between Catelyn's brother, Edmure Tully, and Walder's daughter Roslin is arranged. In Game of Thrones season 3, episode 9 "The Rains of Castamere," Walder Frey breaks the Guest right and butchers Robb, Talisa, Catelyn, and their bannermen post-feast. Roose Bolton betrays the Starks and plunges a dagger through Robb's heart and whispers, "The Lannisters send their regards." For their part in the Red Wedding, Lord Walder Frey is named Lord Paramount of the Trident, and Roose Bolton is made Warden of the North and Lord of Winterfell.
By 303 AC however, all the five kings are dead. Joffrey is poisoned at his own wedding feast by the Tyrell matriarch, Olenna, and Stannis has Renly murdered by a shadow creature. He himself loses to Ramsay Bolton and his army outside Winterfell in Game of Thrones season 5, episode 10 "Mother’s Mercy." Finally, Brienne of Tarth who was the former Kingsguard to Renly, finds Stannis wounded in the Wolfswood and beheads him. As for the King of the Iron Islands, Balon Greyjoy, he is murdered by his younger rogue brother, Euron. While yes, political resentment and animosity ignited the War of the Five Kings, it was the Master of Coin Petyr Baelish who orchestrated the conflict. Robb's sister, Sansa Stark ultimately exposes his machinations in Game of Thrones season 7, episode 7 "The Dragon and the Wolf." It is discovered that Baelish had Catelyn's sister, Lysa Arryn poison her husband and Robert's Hand, Jon Arryn. He then made her write a letter to Catelyn and Ned claiming the Lannisters' involvement in Jon's murder. By sowing discord between the Lannisters and Starks, Baelish seized power in the Vale and became an important man in the capital. Sadly, his dream of sitting the Iron Throne was cut short with the same Valyrian steel dagger he held to Ned's throat in Game of Thrones' "You Win or You Die." Arya kills him in one quick slash across the throat for all his betrayals.