Elective monarchy

The concept of elective monarchy, in the Six Kingdoms of Westeros, refers the idea of one king being elected by the senior nobility of the realm. In the Great Council of 305 AC, this concept was introduced to mainland Westeros by Tyrion Lannister for the first time in history, although it had previously been established in the ironborn custom of the Kingsmoot, as well as the Choosing system of the Night's Watch.

In the Great Council, Tyrion Lannister named Brandon Stark as the first Lord of the Six Kingdoms, a title that was accepted unanimously by the present lords and ladies of the realm, excluding Sansa Stark, who demanded independence for the Kingdom of the North. It was decided that the King of Westeros' children would not inherit the throne simply because their father held it, and that each king upon the death of the ruling monarch would be chosen at the Dragonpit. This new era of Westerosi history would bring an end to the conflicts of House Targaryen, House Baratheon, and House Lannister over the Iron Throne that had culminated over the past twenty years.