Cersei I Lannister

"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground."

- Cersei Lannister to Eddard Stark Queen Cersei I Lannister was the twenty-first ruler of the Seven Kingdoms and the only monarch of the short-lived Lannister Dynasty. She was the only daughter of Lord Tywin Lannister and his wife, Lady Joanna, the twin sister of Jaime Lannister, and the older sister of Tyrion Lannister. She reigned from 303 AC until her death in 305 AC, and was succeded by Daenerys I Targaryen. She was formally styled as Cersei of the House Lannister, the First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, and Protector of the Seven Kingdoms.

Born and raised in Casterly Rock, following Robert's Rebellion, she was married to King Robert I Baratheon and gave the king three surviving children, Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen. Secretly, all three children were bastards born of an incestuous affair between herself and her twin brother Jaime, and it was Joffrey's disputed legitimacy that ignited the War of the Five Kings following the death of King Robert. Eventually, all three of Cersei's children died without issue, and Cersei herself subsequently assumed the Iron Throne, making her the first officially recognised Queen Regnant in the history of the Seven Kingdoms. Her reign came to an abrupt end during the Siege of King's Landing, where she was killed by her own brother and lover, Jaime, after giving a command to burn down the entire capital. She was briefly succeeded by Daenerys Targaryen, until her own death during the ensuing Battle of King's Landing, upon which she was succeeded by King Robert's legitimised bastard son, Gendry I Baratheon.