Game Of Thrones' 28-Year-Old House Baratheon Family Tree Mystery Addressed By AKOTSK's Lyonel Actor

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Daniel Ings as Lyonel Baratheon in his armor in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 4

Published Mar 6, 2026, 4:01 PM EST

WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for George R.R. Martin's The World of Ice & Fire book & potential future stories for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms!

Game of Thrones' expansive family trees have led to some confusion over the years due to some ambiguity in certain generations, with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' Lyonel being a key character whose exact relationships to other Baratheons have needed more clarity.

Since Lyonel debuted in George R.R. Martin's The Hedge Knight novella in 1998 and later had more of the Baratheon lineage addressed in 2014's The World of Ice & Fire book, there's never been an explicit confirmation of whether King Robert Baratheon and his brothers are direct descendants of Lyonel. While Robert, Stannis, and Renly's grandfather, Ormund Baratheon, eventually succeeded Lyonel as Lord of Storm's End, it wasn't confirmed whether Ormund was Lyonel's son or simply a nephew or other male relative next in line to inherit the noble seat.

Daniel Ings as Ser Lyonel Baratheon laughing and wearing a stag helm in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

In an interview with ScreenRant's Liam Crowley after A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1's ending, Lyonel Baratheon actor Daniel Ings addressed whether he had gotten any more clarity about how exactly Lyonel is related to Robert, Stannis, and Renly from the original Game of Thrones series. Though Ings didn't appear to get a confirmation from Martin himself, the actor stated that his understanding of their relationship is that Robert, Stannis, and Renly are directly descended from Lyonel:

Liam Crowley: Have you gotten any kind of clarity from George R. R. Martin in terms of where Lyonel fits in the Baratheon family tree, so to speak? Because it is a little bit ambiguous in the novellas.

Daniel Ings: I'm pretty sure, and I could have this wrong, but I know that there is a storyline for those who are aware of the law of what comes after the events of these novellas, that there is a child born of Lyonel Baratheon and Egg, I believe, who then is, I guess, a grandparent to Robert, Stannis, and Renly.

Per George R.R. Martin's books, the descendant that would first tie Lyonel and Egg directly together is Steffon Baratheon, who is actually the father of Robert, Stannis, and Renly. Steffon is the son of Ormund Baratheon and Rhaelle Targaryen, the daughter of the future King Aegon V "Egg" Targaryen. With Ings' understanding being that Steffon is "born of" both Lyonel and Egg's direct lines, that would imply that Ormund is, indeed, Lyonel's son.

Of course, Martin himself would need to make the distinction for it to be canon within the books, and Ings admitting that he "could have this wrong" means that interpretation isn't necessarily fact for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms or the larger Game of Thrones TV universe. Of course, the TV universe itself has already created some contradictions in regard to the Baratheons based on the prop Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms book in Game of Thrones season 1.

When Ned Stark is looking for proof that Cersei Lannister's children are not Robert Baratheon's in season 1, he looks through said book and finds that each Baratheon entry notes them being "black of hair." Briefly, a few pages in the Baratheon lineage can be seen, which claim that Lyonel Baratheon was born in 204 AC (five years before A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1's timeline), marries Rhaelle Targaryen himself, and is Robert's grandfather.

Given Lyonel Baratheon is not presented as a five-year-old child in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1, the lineage presented in the Game of Thrones prop book isn't accurate to the prequel series' interpretation of the Baratheon family tree. The more likely answer is that Lyonel is the father of Ormund, the great-grandfather of Robert, Stannis, and Renly, and, therefore, the great-great-grandfather of Game of Thrones' fan-favorite character Gendry Baratheon.

Since the Game of Thrones TV universe isn't always completely faithful to the lineages presented in the books, showrunner Ira Parker may be able to clear up the confusion separate from the book canon. For instance, prior to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, HBO's Game of Thrones series notably skipped over a generation of House Targaryen's family tree by making Aegon V the father of The Mad King Aerys rather than Jaehaerys II, who is Egg's son in the books but was cut from the show.

However, since Lyonel Baratheon may not return in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' cast of characters for season 2, it might be some time before the prequel finds an occasion to explicitly state whether Ormund is his son or not. However, even if A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms doesn't reach the point of Lyonel and Egg's immediate descendants marrying, their story is still far from over after season 1's finale.