Game of Thrones – What Next for Cersei Lannister?

Series seven of the magnificent Game of Thrones, will open with a new occupant of the Iron Throne of Westeros.

The new incumbent, and Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, is Cersei Lannister, widow of King Robert Baratheon and daughter of Tywin, the richest man in the seven kingdoms. Her ascent to the throne has been characterised by a ruthless identification, development and ultimate disposal, of many of her enemies. At times coolly ruthless, Cersei doesn’t have too many allies, and even fewer friends, but why is this? More importantly, how has she managed to rise to such dizzy heights?  In the male-dominated world of Westeros, women of power are few and far between.

Cersei is Tywin’s oldest child and when she was four, her Mother died whilst giving birth to her brother Tyrion. Cersei has always resented Tyrion for this. She very close to her twin brother Jaime and this develops over the years, to the extent that their relationship became sexual.

Cersie’s other great source of paranoia is a prophecy delivered by a Witch, who said that all her childhood friends would die, and she would be thrown out by a younger and more beautiful queen.This haunts Cersei throughout her life, and goes a long way towards explaining some of her more extreme behaviour.

Her husband, Robert Baratheon, dies towards the end of series one and Cersei then begins her plotting in earnest. Her son Joffrey ascends to the throne, with no-one but a very few, knowing that he is the bastard son of Cersei’s incestuous relationship with Jaime.

She blackmails and manipulates almost everyone she comes into contact with, the aim being to retain control, while outwardly staying in the background.

Following the death of both Joffrey and her father, her next task is to revive the work of the puritanical group know as ‘The Sparrows’. This backfires with spectacular results, as Cersei herself is arrested and imprisoned.  After atoning for her sins, by being forced to walk naked through the streets of Kings Landing, her rage at her captors, and in particular The High Sparrow, knows no bounds.

Her fury reaches a spectacular conclusion when, using the magical substance Wildfire, she destroys the Great Sept and everyone in it, including many of the people who had conspired to ruin her.

With her opponents brutally removed from the equation, Cersei’s route to the throne is unopposed and she is crowned Queen of Westeros.

Cersei is now in charge – or is she. Dark forces are gathering at all corners of the Kingdom. She faces challenges to her position from all quarters. Jon Snow, now King of the North, is readying an attack, as is Daenerys Targaryen, Queen of Dragons. Cersei’s powers of manipulation, cunning and guile know no boundaries and she will need all her skills if she is to resist the onslaught from her rivals. She is definitely capable of triumph, but whether she can assemble sufficient loyalty from her own followers, remains to be seen.

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