Who do you think has the best claim to the iron throne? By best I mean by right of blood, right of conquest, right of birth, and right of law?

Stannis. He is the closest blood to Robert since his three ‘children’ were actually borne of Jaime and Cersei. By birth, the inheritance pattern goes to the next oldest brother in the absence of heirs of the body , putting Stannis before Renly. By conquest, Robert deposed the Targaryens and won the acclaim of the lords of Westeros.

By law, the Targaryens were ousted by the lords for tyranny. Rhaegar abducted a noble lady, Aerys arrested Brandon Stark and his companions who called out Rhaegar for the deed, then Aerys summoned their fathers and murdered them, mocking the very conception that the lords had a right to trial as dictated in the laws and by their feudal contract. Aerys was actively stating that the lords lived and died at his pleasure and they had no redress when the Targaryens violated their rights. This is confirmed when he seeks the death of Robert and Eddard, two boys who hadn’t even sworn their oaths to him yet. Similarly, when asking Jon Arryn (who recently had his heir murdered by Aerys) to surrender them, Aerys violated one of the oldest taboos of Westeros, that of guest right. This was considered such a vile action that when Lord Mooton was demanded to kill Netty, Mooton considered it so wrong that he considered his oaths forfeit and switched to Aegon II’s side. Honestly, it’s surprising any lord sided with Aerys, save those with familial ties and much-valued political influence like the Martells, or close ties like Jon Connington, the man who would burn down a town and commit a war crime for Rhaegar-senpai.

Then, when Rhaegar shows up, he fights for his father like nothing was wrong. Rhaegar actively defends his actions as justified and by all appearances supports his father. Now, we know Rhaegar meant to “call a council” after the war, but he makes no overtures to the rebels, and it was his fuckup that started the mess. It’s on Rhaegar to fix that mess, not the rebels who were murdered by Rhaegar’s wacko father.

The way for the Targaryens to have a legal claim is to say the deposition was illegitimate, but I don’t see any convincing argument that invalidates Robert’s acclaim in the face of Targaryen tyranny.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King