NOTE: contains spoilers for those who have not seen or read Game of Thrones

Fans of Game of Thrones will know that a wedding in the hit show’s fantasy world does not always ends well.

So the announcement that two of the HBO series’ stars, Kit Harington and Rose Leslie, are to marry will be received with hopes for a white wedding rather than the infamous red one from the series.

The couple, who announced their engagement in the Times newspaper on Wednesday, play on-screen lovers in Game of Thrones – the brooding bastard Jon Snow and Ygritte, the rebellious, headstrong “wildling”.

Ygritte and Jon Snow in Game of Thrones. Photograph: HBO/Courtesy Everett Collection

The couple last appeared together in the show in the final episode of season four, as a heartbroken Snow drags Ygritte’s lifeless body into a snow-covered forest and places her body in a funeral pyre after she died in his arms in the previous episode. Ygritte’s dying words: “You know nothing, Jon Snow” are some of the most frequently quoted among fans.



Under the names Mr KC (Kit Catesby) Harington and Miss RE (Rose Eleanor) Leslie, the Times notice reads: “The engagement is announced between Kit, younger son of David and Deborah Harington of Worcestershire, and Rose, middle daughter of Sebastian and Candy Leslie of Aberdeenshire.”

Both 30 years old, the couple confirmed they were an item in early 2016. In May, Harington revealed they had moved in together and were “very, very happy”, but gave no further detail about the relationship.

Scottish actor Leslie found fame as housemaid Gwen Dawson in Downton Abbey, while Londoner Harington continues his role as Snow in what will be the final and eighth season in 2018.