King’s Landing was the capital city of the Seven Kingdoms in the popular HBO drama Game Of Thrones and met a fiery demise in the controversial final season. After her war with Cersei Lannister comes to a head, Daenerys Targaryen torches the city her ancestors built with her dragon, claiming the Iron Throne with fire and blood.
King’s Landing is still standing in the books, though many fans have speculated that it will be destroyed by wildfire in the future. The city is the heart of Westeros and home to the Iron Throne and has an extensive history that connects them to the Targaryens. Here are ten hidden details about King’s Landing you probably didn’t notice.
10 Winter Came, Left And Came Again
In the season seven finale “The Dragon And The Wolf,” snow begins to fall in King’s Landing as Jaime Lannister finally leaves his sadistic sister Cersei. The characters confirm that winter has finally come to Westeros, yet in the next season, King’s Landing is sunny and snow-free once again.
King’s Landing seems untouched by winter throughout season eight until the finale “The Iron Throne.” The weather dramatically changes after Daenerys attacks the city, with the script confirming that the city is covered in snow, not ash.
9 The Targaryens Built It
King’s Landing did not exist before Aegon the Conqueror came to Westeros and the city was only established as the landing ground of Aegon and his sisters Rhaenys and Visenya. Many expected Aegon to make Dragonstone or Oldtown the Capitol, but the first dragon king chose to build his royal city in the Crownlands.
8 It’s Smaller Than The Free Cities
As the capital city of Westeros, King’s Landing is large and densely populated. However, it is canonically smaller than Essosi towns such as Selhorys and Valysar and the Free Cities of Pentos and Braavos.
King’s Landing is densely populated, with over half a million people estimated to live there in the books. Its size is rivaled only by Oldtown, the Westerosi city of Maesters.
7 There Are Seven Gates Guarding The City
Seven is an important number in Westerosi culture. The predominate religion follows the Faith of the Seven, which is why Aegon the Conqueror had seven gates built into the walls during the construction of King’s Landing.
The seven gates are the Dragon Gate, the Iron Gate, the Old Gate, the Gate of the Gods, the River Gate, the Lion Gate, and the King’s Gate. In the show, the gates were presumably all destroyed by Daenerys and Drogon during the controversial episode “The Bells.”
6 The Location Changes In Season Eight
The final season of Game Of Thrones was certainly its most divisive. Until then, King’s Landing had been portrayed as being surrounded by hills and fields, but in “The Last Of The Starks” we see during Missandei’s execution scene that the city is now surrounded by desert.
This is a glaring continuity error that serves to make King’s Landing look less like the Capitol and more like Qarth. No doubt it can be attributed to budget and making the final battle of King’s Landing easier to film.
5 It Has Its Own Military Formation
A largely populated city such as King’s Landing needs some sort of law enforcement, especially considering the city is also home to the Red Keep and the royal family. The City Watch, also known as the gold cloaks, guard the city and police its residents.
The City Watch of King’s Landing is approximately two thousand men strong and is recognizable by their golden cloaks and uniforms, something implemented by its former Commander, Prince Daemon Targaryen.
4 Two Septs Have Been Destroyed By Fire
During the reign of Maegor the Cruel, the second Targaryen monarch, the Faith revolted against the crown and seized the Sept of Remembrance and the newly built Red Keep. Maegor used his dragon Balerion to destroy the sept and built the Dragonpit atop its ashes.
3 Jaehaerys The Conciliator Built Its Sewage Systems
Jaehaerys the Conciliator and his wife Queen Alysanne are well-known for being the most beloved monarch in Westerosi history. Both did a great deal for King’s Landing, including building drains and sewage systems and drinking fountains for the people.
Until Jaehaerys’ reign, the conditions of King’s Landing had been largely overlooked. It was under Jaehaerys and Alysanne’s reign that the Dragonpit was finished and a new network of roads was built.
2 The Peasants Are No Strangers To Riots
In season two of Game Of Thrones, the smallfolk of King’s Landing rebel and riot against King Joffrey due to a food shortage, murdering many people. The people of the Capitol have rioted before, with even more devastating consequences.
During the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of Dragons, the peasants revolted against Queen Rhaenyra and stormed the Dragonpit. Five Targaryen dragons were killed as well as thousands of smallfolk, and the Dragonpit was never used again.
1 It Was Briefly Ruled By Three Monarchs
After Rhaenyra fled King’s Landing and retreated to Dragonstone following the riots in the Dragonpit, the city fell into chaos. During a short period known as the Moon of the Three Kings, control of the Capitol was divided between three ‘monarchs’ who reigned for little over a month.
A religious preacher called the Shepherd was considered a monarch, as well as two pretender kings: Trystane Truefyre and Gaemon Palehair. Trystane briefly sat the Iron Throne before being put to death by Rhaenyra’s half-brother and rival, Aegon II.
