15 Game Of Thrones Heroes And Villains VS These Real Life Royal Counterparts

*Spoiler Alert* Now five seasons into the HBO series, Game of Thones creator George RR Martin has admitted seeking inspiration from the Hundred Years Wars and the War of the Roses when plotting his book series the Song of Ice and Fire. Much of this is speculation is with a good dose of help from History Behind Game of Thrones. Additional info gathered from Game of Thrones Wiki

Sigil's of the four Westeros Families:

Via geekalerts.com

Starks - Sigil Grey Direwolf

Lannisters - Sigil Lion

Targaryens - Sigil Red Dragon

Barantheon - Sigil Black Stag

Vs the Sigil's of the Four Royal Families

Via gaukartifact.com

House of Orleans - Sigil Wolf

House of Burgundy - Sigil Lion

House of Tudor (Formerly Lancaster) - Sigil Red Dragon

House of York - Sigil Wild Boar

1. Aerys II Targaryen (The Mad King)

Via gameofthrones.wikia.com

of the House Targaryen was the seventeenth and last member of the Targaryen dynasty to sit the Iron Throne. Martin created an incredible back-story for the Targaryens, beginning with Aerys. He was married to his sister Rhaella Targaryen with whom he had three children: Princes Rhaegar and Viserys and Princess Daenerys. Young Aerys was described as having an undeniable charm; he was generous, handsome and resolute. Sinking into madness as he aged, he became increasingly jealous, suspicious and cruel, and prone to furious outbursts. Aerys was killed by Ser Jaime Lannister, the Kingslayer, during Robert's Rebellion.

And Charles VI

Via upload.wikimedia.org

was crowned King of France at the tender young age of 11 in the midst of the Hundred Years' War, taking power at 21. While the age of majority for King was 14, his four uncles controlled and drained the royal coffers for their own gain. Charles took back the monarchy earning the moniker "The Beloved" and later "The Mad" when at age 24, he suddenly went mad and slew four knights and almost killed his brother. Like Aerys, Charles' bouts of insanity became more frequent and of longer duration. During these attacks, he had delusions, believing he was made of glass or denying he had a wife and children.

2. Rhaella Targaryen

Via awoiaf.westeros.org

of the House Targaryen, the sister-wife of the Mad King. She suffered mutiple miscarriages and stillbirths, but mothered three children. After suffering from the cruelty of the mad king, she gave birth on Dragonstone to Princess Daenerys during a raging summer storm and died shortly after her birth from complications.

VS Isabeau of Bavaria

Via upload.wikimedia.org

Of the House of Wittelsbach married at age 15 the Burgundian King of France Charles VI, who like mad king Aegar, suffered from what they believe was paranoid schizophrenia. At the onset, Charles seemingly loved his young wife, lavishing gifts on her but when she was just 22, Charles became ill and at his worst was unable to recognize her or their three children. She gave birth to twelve children but only six survived into adulthood.

3. Rhaegar Targaryen

Via awoiaf.westeros.org

was the oldest son of Aerys II and Rhaella Targaryen and heir-apparent, Prince of Dragonstone and crown prince for the Iron Throne. He was killed by Robert Barantheon during Robert's Rebellion.

VS Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales

Painting by Isaac Oliver / Via bbc.co.uk

and like Rhaegar, he was bright, popular and skilled in a variety of physical pursuits, sometimes outshining his own father. And like Rhaegar, died at the young age of 18 before his own father's passing.

4. Viserys Targarian

Via viewers-guide.hbo.com

son of King Aerys II Targaryen, was crowned by his mother Rhaella Targaryen on Dragonstone, during the first months of his exile. After the death of his mother and the end of the war, Viserys and his sister, Daenerys Targaryen, were smuggled to Braavos by the loyalist Ser Willem Darry before Stannis Baratheon's assault on Dragonstone.

VS Charles I of England

Painting by Gerrit van Honthorst / Via commons.wikimedia.org

was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland during the 1600's. Like Viserys, he became heir apparent upon the death of his eldest brother Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales and also believed in the divine right of kings. During his twenty year reign, the monarchy was dissolved (later to be restored) and Charles was tried, convicted, and executed for high treason.

5. Daenerys Targaryen

Via viewers-guide.hbo.com

is the only surviving child of King Aerys II Targaryen and Rhaella Targaryen, who was sent to safety along with her brother Viserys to Dragonstone. Rhaella died shortly after giving birth to Dany during a great storm earning her the monicker Daenerys Stormborn. She is currently the Queen of Mereen.

VS Henry VII (Tudor w/ Lancastrian Ancestry)

Via telegraph.co.uk

was the main Lancastrian claimant to the throne, who like Dany, spent 14 years in exile in France for his own safety. He was the last monarch to take the throne by force. By marrying Elizabeth of York and unifying the houses of York and Lancaster, Henry was successful in restoring the power and stability of the English monarchy after the political upheavals of the Wars of the Roses.

6. Tywin Lannister

Via viewers-guide.hbo.com

is the lord of House Lannister, one of the Great Houses of the realm, the Lord Paramount of the Westerlands and the richest man in the Seven Kingdoms. He is the father to twins Jaime and Cersei and Tyrion. Tywin served as Hand of the King to Aerys II Targaryen for twenty years until the Mad King rejected Tywin's proposal to marry his daughter Cersei to Prince Rhaegar. Instead, Aerys made his son Jaime a member of the Kingsguard, effectively robbing Tywin of his heir. He later betrayed the mad king, ordering the city to be taken and the royal family massacred.

VS Philip The Bold

Via en.wikipedia.org

was the Duke of Burgundy and the a younger son of King John II of France. With his brothers he was appointed by King Charles V as regent for the future Charles VI, and soon after the young king's accession, Philip became the virtual ruler of France. He returned to prominence when the king became insane. Philip was the chief rival for power of the king's brother Louis d'Orléans; his son, John the Fearless, carried on the quarrel.

7. Ser Jamie Lannister

Via viewers-guide.hbo.com

also known as the Kingslayer, is a knight from House Lannister. He is the second child and first-born son of Lord Tywin Lannister and his cousin/wife Lady Joanna, also of House Lannister, the twin brother of Queen Cersei Lannister and father to her three children: Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella. The mad king Aerys chose Jaime for the Kingsguard as a slight against Lord Tywin and to rob him of his heir. During the Sack of King's landing by Tywin, Jaime killed Aerys with a single slash across the throat, thereby preventing him from giving the command to burn the city.

8. VS John the Fearless

Via ehistory.osu.edu

was Duke of Burgundy and the son of Philip the Bold. For a period, he was also regent for his mad first cousin King Charles VI of France. John entered into open conflict against the King's younger brother, Louis of Orléans who later was brutally assassinated in the streets of Paris through an order that had come from John. During the Burgundians and Armagnacs conflict and secretly taking sides with the King of England, John's troops set about the task of gaining Paris. After capturing the city, he made himself protector of the King. During what he thought was a diplomatic meeting with the Heir apparent Charles VII, John was assassinated by the Dauphin's companions.

9. Cersei Lannister

Via viewers-guide.hbo.com

is the only daughter and eldest child of Joanna Lannister and Lord Tywin Lannister, the elder twin of Ser Jaime Lannister and the elder sister of Tyrion Lannister. She is the wife of King Robert Baratheon, a political marriage Robert agreed to in thanks for her father's late switching of sides in the civil war which brought him to power. She was aged 19 when she married Robert and became Queen. She has three children: Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen. She claims that they are Robert's although they are actually illegitimate and a result of her incestuous relationship with her brother Jaime.

VS Margaret of Anjou

Via images6.fanpop.com

also known as the White Queen, was the wife of King Henry VI of England and Queen of England. She was one of the principal figures in the series of dynastic civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses and at times personally led the Lancastrian faction. Due to her husband's frequent bouts of insanity, Margaret ruled the kingdom in his place.

OR Elizabeth Woodville

Via o.canada.com

was a mid-ranking and Queen consort of England after her second marriage to the British King Edward IV. Like Cersei's husband Robert, Elizabeth's husband had many mistresses. Upon her husband's death, possibly from pneumonia, her young son Henry V reigned as King of England for 86 days with his uncle Richard as Lord Protector. He was never crowned and sent to the Tower, Richard claiming the crown for himself and stripping Elizabeth of her titles and property. In 1485, Henry Tudor invaded England and defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. As King, Henry VII married Elizabeth of York and Elizabeth Woodville was accorded the title and honours of a queen dowager.

10. Robert Barantheon

Via viewers-guide.hbo.com

was the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, taking the throne through conquest in the war known as Robert's Rebellion and killing Aerys eldest son Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, at the Battle of the Trident. To cement an alliance with House Lannister to hold the kingdoms together, Robert entered into a loveless marriage with Cersei Lannister, spending much of the next seventeen years whoring, drinking and hunting. Robert and Cersei have three children: Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen but all three were actually fathered by Cersei's twin brother, Jaime Lannister. Cersei instructs Robert's squire, Lancel Lannister, to give him too much wine while hunting and Robert is fatally wounded by a boar, succumbing to his injuries soon afterwards.

VS Edward IV

Via dailymail.co.uk

of the House of York, was the King of England for two periods in the 1400s. Like Robert Barantheon, Edward was an extremely capable and daring military commander, crushing the House of Lancaster in a series of spectacular military victories; he was never defeated on the field of battle. The first half of his rule was marred by the violence associated with the Wars of the Roses, but he overcame the Lancastrian challenge to the throne to reign in peace until his sudden death, some suspected from poison. Edward IV had ten children by Elizabeth Woodville, seven of whom survived him. After his death, they were declared illegitimate, clearing the way for his brother Richard III to become King.

with a dash of Henry VIII

Via independent.co.uk

was the King of England and the second monarch of the Tudor dynasty, succeeding his father, Henry VII. His desire to provide England with a male heir and maintain the fragile peace that existed following the Wars of the Roses led to the two things for which Henry is most remembered: his six marriages and his break with the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church, leading to the English Reformation. Like Robert Baratheon, Henry became severely obese and was frequently characterized in his later life as a lustful, egotistical, harsh, and insecure king.

11. Stannis Barantheon

Via vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net

of the House Baratheon, one of the Great Houses of the realm. He is Lord of Dragonstone, the younger brother of late King Robert Baratheon, and older brother of Renly Baratheon. When Eddard Stark discovers that Robert's heir Joffrey is in reality a bastard born out of incest between Queen Cersei Lannister and her brother Jaime, Stannis, as the lawful heir, claims the Iron Throne for himself.

VS Richard III

Via bbc.co.uk

was King of England until his death at the age of 32, in the Battle of Bosworth Field.

When his older brother King Edward IV died, Richard was named Lord Protector of the realm for Edward's son and successor, the 12-year-old Edward V. But before the young king could be crowned, his father's marriage to his mother Elizabeth Woodville was declared invalid, making their children illegitimate and ineligible for the throne. As the rightful heir, Richard seized the throne for himself.

12. Sansa Stark

Via viewers-guide.hbo.com

is the daughter of Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell and his wife Lady Catelyn, sister of Robb, Arya, Bran and Rickon Stark, and half-sister of Jon Snow. She moves to King's Landing when Eddard is appointed Hand of the King and she is betrothed to the Robert's son Joffrey. Upon Robert's death and her father's trial for treason, she is forced to watch her own father's execution. Held prisoner, Sansa is repeatedly humiliated and brutalized by King Joffrey, who later repudiates his betrothal to her in favor of Margaery Tyrell. Sansa is unwillingly married to Joffrey's uncle, Tyrion Lannister.

VS Ginger #1 Elizabeth of York

Via 195.188.87.10

was the eldest child of Henry VI and Elizabeth Woodville, queen consort of England and the first Tudor Queen. She married King Henry VII following Henry's victory at the Battle of Bosworth which ended the War of the Roses and uniting their two houses: York and Lancaster. Despite being a political arrangement at first, the marriage proved successful and both partners appeared to have grown to love each other.

OR Ginger #2 Elizabeth I

Via images2.fanpop.com

was Queen of England and Ireland, the childless Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII by second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was executed two and a half years after Elizabeth's birth. During her sister Mary's reign, Elizabeth was imprisoned in the tower of London for nearly a year on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels.

13. Lysa Arryn (née Tully)

Via viewers-guide.hbo.com

was the Lady Regent of the Vale, ruling on behalf of her young son Robin Arryn and grew up with Petyr Baelish who was fostered with the Tully's. She poisoned her own husband's wine and framed the Lannisters, using these actions as proof of her love for Petyr Baelish, who murders her shortly after their marriage in front of her niece Sansa.

VS Catherine Parr

Via sho.com

was the sixth wife and widow of Henry VIII and stepmother to King VI, just nine at the time of his coronation. When Catherine was pregnant, she had become concerned enough about her husband Thomas Seymour's flirtatious relationship with Elizabeth I, not yet 15, that she sent Elizabeth away. After the birth of her daughter, like Lysa, she became uncharacteristically hostile and delusional. She died of complications due to childbirth and upon her death, left all of her possessions to Thomas, making him one of the richest men in England.

14. Robin Arryn "Sweetrobin"

Via viewers-guide.hbo.com

is the only surviving child and heir of Lord Jon Arryn by his wife, Lysa of House Tully. Lord of the Eyrie and the head of House Arryn, Robin was born in King's Landing where his father was serving as the Hand of the King for Robert Baratheon. Lysa rushes Robin back to the Eyrie following Jon's death. Petyr Baelish pushes Lysa out the Moon Door, leaving Petyr as the acting Lord Paramount of the Vale as Robin's step-father.

VS Edward VI

Via google.ca

was King of England and Ireland crowned at the age of nine and died at 15 from what they believe was a lung tumor. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch raised as a Protestant. During Edward's reign, the realm was governed by a Regency Council laid out in Henry VIII's will because he never reached his majority age of 18.

15. Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish

Via viewers-guide.hbo.com

is the head of House Baelish and the lord of an extremely minor holding. He was Master of Coin on the Small Council, accrued his vast wealth through his brothels in King's Landing and betrayed Neddark Stark, siding with the Lannisters. He eventually marries Lysa Arryn, sister of his beloved Caitlyn Stark's and Sansa's aunt. He quickly murders Lysa, becoming Protector of the Vale until his stepson Robin Arryn comes of age.

16. VS Thomas Seymour

Via thetudorswiki.com

was the brother of the English queen Jane Seymour, the fourth husband of Catherine Parr who was the sixth and last wife of Henry VIII and uncle and stepfather to child King Edward VI. Like Littlefinger, Thomas Seymour was on the Regency Council and also held an inappropriate relationship with a woman in her teens, becoming more than a little familiar, if not intimate, with Elizabeth I (Whom Sansa is based upon)