[Iron Throne — Lore]
The War of the Five Kings continues, however, as Balon Greyjoy still fights for the Iron Islands ' independence and to hold on to his conquest in the North , while Stannis continues to dispute Joffrey's right to the Iron Throne.
Jon Snow is actually the son of Eddard's younger sister , Lyanna Stark , and according to the normal line of succession, would rank behind both Sansa and Arya . At the same time, as the trueborn son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, Jon is currently the heir to the Iron Throne . Sam , with the help of Gilly , confirmed through High Septon Maynard 's personal diary that Rhaegar had his marriage to Elia Martell annulled and then was remarried to Lyanna.
Sam informs Jon of his true parentage and calls him the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, Aegon of House Targaryen, the Sixth of His Name. Jon says that pressing his claim is treason, expressing no interest in the Iron Throne and reinforcing his loyalty towards his queen.
Drogon unleashes his fire across the throne room, melting the Iron Throne, destroying what Aegon the Conqueror built and "breaking the wheel" that have plagued Westeros for over 300 years. He picks up Daenerys's body and flies away, leaving a grieved Jon behind.
By the point the novels reached, there are two living descendants of the house: Daenerys and Aegon Targaryen , the son of Rhaegar and Elia who is revealed to be alive in A Dance with Dragons . Since Jon Snow's parantage has yet to be confirmed in the books, Aegon has the strongest claim to the Iron Throne, ahead of Daenerys, although his legitimacy is questioned by Tommen's small council. A popular fan theory states that Aegon is really the son of Illyrio Mopatis and his late wife Serra, a possible member of House Blackfyre.
The TV series, however, contradicted this in Season 1's " The Wolf and the Lion ": when Bran is asked by Maester Luwin about the heraldry of the Great Houses, he explicitly says that the Baratheon stag only has a crown now , after Robert became the king. It isn't clear if this was a deliberate change for the TV continuity, or more probably, if the TV scriptwriters also made the common mistake of assuming the Baratheons didn't use a crowned stag before Robert seized the Iron Throne.
Ser Loras Tyrell suggests to his lover Renly that his family would support a claim to the Iron Throne made by Renly with all of their formidable military and economic might. Renly is initially reluctant to make such a claim. However, when Eddard Stark spurns his aid, Renly flees King's Landing by night with Loras. He is crowned king in Highgarden and lays claim to the Iron Throne.
At the Dragonpit Summit , Euron seemingly abandons Cersei after witnessing the captured wight , but it is a ruse, and Euron is really headed for Essos to ferry the Golden Company so they can help Cersei secure her hold on the Iron Throne .
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the Greyjoys have been a powerful family in the Islands for possibly thousands of years, long ruling the formidable castle of Pyke. When King Harren the Black was slain by King Aegon the Conqueror during the Targaryen invasion, the ironborn elected Lord Vickon Greyjoy of Pyke to succeed him as ruler of the isles, now oath-sworn to the Iron Throne . The Greyjoys have ruled ever since. The Greyjoys keep themselves distant from the other Great Houses, rarely taking part in events on the mainland (which they call the green lands) and, at various times, even returning to their ancient practices of raiding the nearby coastlines.
After holding themselves aloof during Robert's Rebellion , Lord Balon Greyjoy rebelled against the Iron Throne, declaring himself King of the Isles. Balon's belief was that Robert, who had only been on the throne for five years, did not command the total support of the nobles due to his status as a usurper and would not be able to rally the support needed to crush the rebellion. He was proven wrong and was defeated, with his fleet burned and two eldest sons slain during the war.