Robb Stark

"From this time until the end of time, we are a free and independent kingdom."

- Robb Stark

Robb Stark is a major character in the first, second, and third seasons. He is played by starring cast member Richard Madden and debuts in the series premiere. Robb Stark is the King in the North, the ruler of the North, declared as such by his bannermen and allies after Eddard Stark's execution. He is leading these forces in a rebellion against King Joffrey, designed to break the North away from the control of the Iron Throne. He has adopted a direwolf which he named Grey Wind. He recently married Talisa Maegyr, a Volantene noblewoman, in secret.

Background
Robb is the eldest child of Lady Catelyn and Lord Eddard Stark. Eddard is the head of House Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Lord Paramount of the North, one of the constituent regions of the Seven Kingdoms. The Starks rule the region from their seat of Winterfell. He is also the Warden of the North to King Robert Baratheon.

Robb was born at Riverrun and raised in Winterfell. His father left his mother the morning after their wedding to fight in Robert's Rebellion and did not return until after Robb was born. He has two younger trueborn brothers, Bran and Rickon, and two sisters, Sansa and Arya. He is also close to his bastard half-brother, Jon Snow, and to his father's ward, Theon Greyjoy, whom he counts as his best friend outside of the family. He has been trained from childhood to wield a sword and wear armor by Winterfell's Master-at-Arms Ser Rodrik Cassel, and is highly proficient with both for his young age. He lives at Winterfell with his family.

Season 1
Robb attends the execution of Will, a deserter from the Night's Watch, by his father Eddard Stark. On their way home with Theon, Jon and Bran, they find a litter of newborn direwolf pups. Robb is surprised that there are any direwolves south of the Wall. When their father says they can keep the pups, Robb adopts one of them as his own, naming him Grey Wind. He welcomes King Robert Baratheon to Winterfell with the rest of his family. He helps his mother maintain discipline during the feast, removing his sister Arya when she starts flicking food at Sansa, despite his amusement. Robb displays an antipathy to Joffrey from the start, noting that he's a "right royal prick".

Bran is left comatose in a fall, and because of his father's departure for King's Landing and his mother's refusal to leave an unconscious Bran's side, Robb must help Maester Luwin run the castle making new appointment to the castle's staff. When Catelyn and Ser Rodrik Cassel decide that threats from the Lannister's necessitate their departure for the capital, Robb is left in command of Winterfell. Aware that the Lannisters may be behind Bran's injury, he later greets Tyrion with hostility, only to be confused when Tyrion gives Bran a special saddle to help him ride. Robb visits a recovering Bran and has to tell him that he will never walk again. Bran says he would rather have died.



While taking Bran outside the castle to test his new saddle, Robb and Theon are talking about Robb's future plans, when they realize that Bran has wandered off. Bran has been taken hostage by a band of wildlings, but they are found by Robb who advances on them with a sword. One of the wildlings [Stiv]] holds a knife to Bran's throat and makes Robb drop the sword. Theon kills Stiv with an arrow, which angers Robb as Bran could have been injured. Only one of the wildlings is taken prisoner, Osha. Osha says that the greatest danger lies north of the Wall, from the White Walkers, not from the Lannisters in the south, but Robb disregards her warning.

Following Robert's death and Eddard's arrest in King's Landing King Joffrey summons Robb to pay him fealty. Robb instead calls his banners, marching House Stark's vassals to war. His youth and inexperience is questioned by Greatjon Umber who says he will take his armies home. Robb replies that then after they win the Stark army will return to take the lands of House Umber. Enraged, Greatjon starts to draw his sword, but the formidable Northern lord is cowed when Grey Wind attacks and bites off two of his fingers. He laughs it off and becomes one of Robb's most loyal retainers. Robb's army marches south, reuniting with Catelyn and Ser Rodrik along the way and feeding the Lannisters false intelligence on their movements. Robb wins the allegiance of the prickly Lord Walder Frey and his troops by agreeing to marry one of Frey's daughters. He sends a small force of men to distract the main Lannister army under Lord Tywin Lannister at the Battle of the Green Fork. Meanwhile, his main army attacks Jaime Lannister's forces near Riverrun, winning the Battle of the Whispering Wood and taking Jaime as a captive.



Robb is devastated by news of his father's death. He and his lords debate supporting either Stannis or Renly's claim to the throne before the Greatjon says neither appeals and declares Robb the King in the North. Other lords of both the North and the Riverlands take up the cry. Theon asks Robb to affirm that they are brothers, now and always, and then swears fealty to him.

Season 2

 * Main: Robb Stark Season 2

Robb continues to win victories against the Lannister army. He earns the nickname "The Young Wolf" for his ferocity in battle. He keeps Jaime Lannister under guard in his camp to confound attempts to free him. He dispatches envoys to seek alliances on his behalf. He sends Theon Greyjoy to Pyke to treat with his father Balon Greyjoy. He tasks his mother Catelyn with forming an alliance with King Renly Baratheon in the Stormlands. Robb sends deliberately disagreeable terms to Queen Regent Cersei Lannister to waste her time. The terms are rejected as expected. Robb wins a crushing victory against a Lannister reinforcement host at the Battle of Oxcross. In the aftermath of the battle he is intrigued by a battlefield medic named Talisa.

Renly is killed just after agreeing to an alliance and Catelyn flees his camp to return to Robb. Renly's men swear fealty to his less agreeable brother Stannis Baratheon. Catelyn returns to Robb's camp and warns him against pursuing Talisa. They are shocked when news arrives that Theon has betrayed Robb and attacked Winterfell. Robb is furious and agrees to let the bastard son of his bannerman Roose Bolton retake the castle. He insists that the safety of his brothers is paramount and demands that Theon be brought before him so that he can execute him personally.

Robb wins a further victory at the Battle of the Yellow Fork. His prison cells are filled to overflowing with captives. When Ser Alton returns with Cersei's rejection of his terms he houses him with Jaime. Talisa asks him for help obtaining medical supplies and he invites her to accompany him to negotiate the surrender of the Crag, suggesting that she restock from the castle's stores. While Robb is gone Jaime escapes, killing Alton and Torrhen Karstark. He is recaptured but Lord Rickard Karstark threatens to behead him to avenge Torrhen. Catelyn sends her sworn sword Brienne of Tarth to exchange Jaime for her captive daughters without consulting Robb.

Robb is furious at the betrayal and orders Catelyn kept under guard. He sends men to find Jaime and devises a plan for Roose's bastard son; offer mercy to Theon's men if they deliver the Ironborn prince so they will abandon him, allowing him to retake Winterfell with minimal bloodshed. Talisa comforts Robb, revealing more of her past. He confesses not wanting to marry into House Frey and they sleep together. Robb confesses his love for Talisa to Catelyn. Catelyn warns against betraying his oath to marry a daughter of House Frey. Robb rejects her counsel, and in a secret ceremony conducted by a Septon of the Faith of the Seven, he and Talisa secretly marry.

Season 3
Robb's host marches on Harrenhal greatly anticipating the battle ahead, only to find the castle abandoned, and the Northern prisoners slain. Among the dead Robb and his new wife find but one survivor: a maester named Qyburn. Robb then orders his mother imprisoned within the fortress.

Relationships
See Robb and Talisa Stark

Quotes
"Tell Lord Tywin, winter is coming for him. Twenty thousand northerners marching south to find out if he really does shit gold."

- Robb Stark to a Lannister scout

"We have been underestimating the Stark boy for too long."

- Tywin Lannister on Robb Stark

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Robb Stark is 14 years old when the story begins. He is his father's son, with a keen sense of honor and justice.

There are some minor differences from the books. He tells Bran that when Grey Wind tore off the Greatjon's fingers, he was very scared about the possible consequences but couldn't show it. Later, he accepts his mother's tactical advice while splitting his army in two, appointing the cautious, experienced Roose Bolton in command of the army tasked with delaying the Lannisters at the Green Fork.

Robb's appearance in the books is also different - he is described in the books as having the thick auburn hair of the Tullys, while on the show Robb has dark brown curly hair and a more lean build. Bran Stark's hair color is also darker on the TV series. In the books, all of Eddard's children except Arya (and of course, Jon Snow) inherited from their mother Catelyn the typical House Tully features of auburn hair and blue eyes.

During the War of the Five Kings, Robb also begins to wear a bronze and iron crown just like his ancestors, the Kings of Winter.