Myrcella Baratheon

"Myrcella's a sweet, innocent girl and I don't blame her at all for you."

- Tyrion to Myrcella's mother, Cersei Lannister.

Princess Myrcella Baratheon is a recurring character in the first and second season. She is played by guest star Aimee Richardson and debuts in the series premiere. Princess Myrcella is commonly thought to be the only daughter of King Robert Baratheon and Queen Cersei Lannister. Like her siblings, her real father is Jaime Lannister. Her younger brother Tommen Baratheon currently sits on the Iron Throne as the King of the Andals and the First Men. She has been sent to Dorne as part of a marriage pact with House Martell.

Background
Princess Myrcella is commonly thought to be the only daughter of King Robert Baratheon and Queen Cersei Lannister. Cersei and Robert married to seal a political alliance between House Baratheon and House Lannister after Robert took the throne by force from the Mad King Aerys II Targaryen. Myrcella has an older brother, Joffrey, and a younger, Tommen, with whom she is close. The real father of all three children is Jaime Lannister, making them bastards born of incest. She has a sweet and quiet disposition and is fond of her uncle Tyrion Lannister.

Season 1
Myrcella accompanies her family north to Winterfell after the death of Jon Arryn. During their stay Bran Stark is severely injured. Myrcella is eating breakfast with Cersei, Jaime and Tommen when her uncle Tyrion joins them. Myrcella asks whether Bran will die and Tyrion replies that he is expected to live, delighting Myrcella and horrifying Cersei. Tyrion excites Myrcella and Tommen by announcing that he wishes to see the Wall and the “wintry abode of the White Walkers.” He then amuses them by claiming that he wants to urinate off the edge of the wall. Cersei is irritated by his rudeness and leaves, taking the children with her.

Myrcella attends the tournament to celebrate Eddard Stark becoming Hand of the King. She witnesses the horrific death of Ser Hugh of the Vale during his joust against Ser Gregor Clegane. Myrcella returns for the second day of the tournament and applauds when Ser Loras Tyrell unseats Gregor. Gregor attacks Loras and Sandor Clegane intervenes. King Robert calls an end to the fighting. Myrcella joins the applause when Loras declares Sandor a champion.

Season 2
Myrcella attends Joffrey's nameday Tourney. She is pleased when her uncle Tyrion Lannister arrives during the festivities and tells her that she is more beautiful than ever. When Joffrey callously says that they had heard he was dead, Myrcella tells Tyrion that she is glad that rumors of his death were not true.

Myrcella attends a tense dinner with her younger brother Tommen, her mother Cersei, and Sansa Stark. Myrcella naively makes smalltalk with Sansa, asking when she will marry Joffrey, and Cersei explains it will be after the war ends. Myrcella says that she is excited for the new gowns she will wear to the wedding. She good-naturedly points out that Sansa will be wearing an ivory gown as the bride. Sansa isn't sure how to react but Cersei presses her to respond. Sansa parrots the usual lines that she looks forward to being married to Joffrey.

In order to strengthen House Lannister's political position during the War of the Five Kings, Hand of the King Tyrion Lannister makes plans to forge a marriage-alliance with House Martell of Dorne by having Princess Myrcella wed to Trystane Martell, the youngest child of the current ruler of Dorne. In return House Martell would hopefully supply soldiers to the Lannisters' side, or at least ensure they wouldn't openly side with their enemies. The actual marriage ceremony will wait until Myrcella is old enough, but part of the arrangement involves sending her to Dorne to live in Trystane's household. Queen Cersei is furious with Tyrion when she hears (from Grand Maester Pycelle) what he is planning, declaring that she won't let her only daughter be shipped off to Dorne as she was shipped off to Robert Baratheon. Tyrion counters that as a princess, many would say that Myrcella was born to one day forge a marriage alliance, and she will be safer in Dorne than in the capital city during a major civil war. Against Cersei's continued protests, Tyrion insists that the plan has already been finalized, leaving Cersei fuming and in tears for her daughter.

Myrcella later plays with her handmaidens in a castle garden before the eyes of Septa Eglantine, while her inebriated mother bitterly criticizes Tyrion for being ready to "seal my daughter in a crate so you can ship her away". Tyrion insists that she will be safer in Dorne, and Cersei mocks his concern for her. Tyrion firmly says that he is indeed concerned for Myrcella's safety: she is a sweet, innocent girl, and "I don't blame her at all for you".

Myrcella tearfully departs King's Landing on a ship bound for Sunspear accompanied by Septa Eglantine and Ser Arys Oakheart of the Kingsguard. She is seen off at the docks by a formal royal procession including King Joffrey, Prince Tommen, Queen Cersei, Acting Hand of the King Tyrion Lannister, and Sansa Stark with prayers for her and her safe journey delivered by the High Septon.

Season 4
After Jaime returns to King's Landing, Cersei lists off to him all she has suffered since he left for the war over two years ago, one of which is that their daughter Myrcella has been shipped off to Dorne to secure a political marriage-alliance.

During the royal wedding between King Joffrey and Margaery Tyrell, Prince Oberyn Martell encounters Lord Tywin, the man he holds responsible for letting Ser Gregor Clegane rape and kill his sister Elia during the Sack of King's Landing, and also killing her two children. Oberyn introduces his paramour, Ellaria Sand, to Myrcella's mother Cersei. The four of them exchange smiling pleasantries which barely hide their underlying and mutual loathing for each other. At the end of their encounter, Oberyn casually points out that Myrcella is still in Dorne and heavily implies that the safety of Cersei's daughter is contingent upon how well the Lannisters treat the Martells, as a ward can easily become nothing more than a hostage. Tommen is crowned king after Joffrey is poisoned at his own wedding, making Myrcella the heir to the Iron Throne.

While conversing with Oberyn, Cersei laments that she has not seen Myrcella in over a year. Oberyn informs her that the last time he saw Myrcella she was swimming with two of his daughters in the Water Gardens, laughing in the sun. Cersei states that she wants to believe this story, and that Myrcella is happy. Oberyn gives her his word, insisting that they do not hurt little girls in Dorne. Cersei replies that they hurt little girls everywhere in the world. Cersei asks Oberyn to bring Myrcella a gift from her, as she missed her nameday and does not know when she will see her again. Oberyn agrees and Cersei points to a ship that the best shipwrights in King's Landing have been building for months, declaring that Myrcella loves the open water. Oberyn promises to have it sailed down to Sunspear for Myrcella. Cersei asks him to please tell Myrcella that her mother misses her very much. Later, Oberyn meets with Tyrion in his prison cell, and recounts his meeting with Cersei. Oberyn says he half-suspects that Cersei was actually lying, and was exaggerating how much she misses Myrcella in order to guilt him into siding with her against Tyrion during the trial - though her performance was so convincing that part of him also wonders if it was true. Tyrion explains that the trouble with Cersei is that she mixes lies with truth to suit her own ends: part of her is worried about Myrcella, but she isn't above cynically using this grief to gain sympathy from others.

Quotes by Myrcella
"Is Bran going to die?"

- Myrcella Baratheon to her uncle Tyrion (also, Myrcella's first and only speaking line in Season 1)

Princess Myrcella Baratheon: (to Cersei) "When will Joffrey and Sansa be married?"

Queen Cersei Lannister: "Soon darling, when the war is over." Myrcella: (to Sansa) "Mother says I'll have a new gown for the ceremony, and another for the feast." (Quickly thinking of something nice to say to Sansa) "But yours will be ivory, since you're the bride." (Sansa sits in a stunned silence after being reminded that she will be forced to marry Joffrey)

Cersei: (to Sansa) "The princess just spoke to you."

Sansa Stark: (to Cersei) "Pardon, your grace." (to Myrcella) "I'm sure your dress will be beautiful, Myrcella. I'm counting the days until the fighting's done, and I can pledge my love to the king in sight of the Gods."

Quotes about Myrcella
"I'm brokering an alliance with House Martell of Dorne. Princess Myrcella will wed their youngest son when she comes of age."

- Tyrion Lannister

"Just how safe do you think Myrcella is if the city falls? Do you want to see her raped?! Butchered like the Targaryen children?! Make no mistake, they'll mount her pretty little head on a spike right next to yours!"

- Tyrion to Cersei

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Myrcella is a quiet, obedient, and honest girl, eight years old when the events of the books begin. Myrcella is a year younger than Arya Stark, and a year older than Bran Stark. She is said to have inherited her mother's beautiful looks, but none of her personality. Her mother dotes on her and is keen that she does not suffer Cersei's fate of being "sold" in a political marriage without love.

Like all of Cersei's children she was mostly ignored by King Robert. While Cersei felt she doted on all of her children, she is more attached to her own mental constructs of them than the reality. As Cersei's loveless marriage with Robert dragged on year after year, she increasingly fantasized about how Joffrey would one day succeed Robert and become a great king himself, never acknowledging that he was really a petulant sociopath. Ironically, despite Cersei's defiant claims (and even earnest belief) that she is a devoted mother to all of her children, she actually became so obsessed with Joffrey (and her fantasies about him) that she all but ignored Myrcella and Tommen throughout their lives. From the moment she gave birth to Joffrey, Cersei dreamed about the great king he would grow into, and how as Jaime's secret son he would be her ultimate revenge on Robert: the births of her two subsequent children were barely an anecdote in the narrative of this mental fantasy which already been established in her mind years before. Her younger children were pushed off to the side, and with Robert a non-factor in their lives as well, they were functionally raised by court servants, such as Septa Eglantine. Even so, Cersei will still become hypocritically enraged when anyone questions her relationship with her younger children.

TV viewers who haven't read the books may find it odd that while the children of the current generation of House Stark are given a large amount of screentime (even Arya or Bran), the younger children of the current generation of House Lannister barely appear at all. This is much as it was in the earlier books of the series, and is actually a key plot point: the almost total absence of Myrcella and Tommen from the inner dynamics of House Lannister is indicative of just how little importance they have to Cersei. People are aware they exist, but rarely even pause to consider treating them as individuals with their own emotions or agendas (between the two of them, they had only a single throwaway speaking line in the entire first season, "is Bran going to die?" - Rickon Stark had more dialogue in Season 1 than both of them combined). At best, Cersei will argue over their treatment on general principle, such as when she opposed "selling" Myrcella of to a political marriage in Dorne. However, Cersei was more angered in the sense that she felt something was being taken which belonged to her: notice that neither the books nor TV series includes a scene in which Cersei discusses news of the marriage proposal with Myrcella.

Thus it is all the more shocking when in later books, as they grow older, Myrcella and Tommen increasingly turn into major characters in the very midst of House Lannister, on the scale of Arya or Bran Stark, where before they were treated as non-entities. The other family members and courtiers (and by extension, the readers or TV viewers) are even criticized for ignoring them this entire time, and simply assuming they were content. The smiling children seen in public at the Tourney of the Hand in book/Season 1 hide a darker and empty family life. Later books also retroactively reveal that Tommen, and maybe Myrcella too, have lived in terror of Joffrey their entire lives. Joffrey killed and skinned a pet fawn of Tommen, yet Cersei continued to dote on him. At one point Tommen even says that he used to "go away inside" mentally when Joffrey did certain things to him, though the exact extent of what he did (killing his pet or something far more sinister) has not been made clear. It is not mentioned or implied if Joffrey abused Myrcella too.

However, despite their parents' loveless marriage, absent father, sociopathic and abusive older brother, willfully blind and functionally absent mother, Myrcella and Tommen still seem to have a good and genuinely loving relationship between the two of them, as fellow-sufferers sharing a household with Cersei and Joffrey.

Tommen goes to the tournament for Joffrey's nameday, having been given permission by Cersei to do a practice mounted sword fight against a quintain with a straw filled mannequin as his opponent. Joffrey sees that the quality of the jousting is poor (the Hound says they are all gnats, and Ser Dontos Hollard shows up drunk), and Joffrey decides to cancel the whole thing. Tommen and Myrcella protest, as Cersei said Tommen could take part, and Joffrey can't just cancel it. When Joffrey says they are acting childish, Myrcella responds, "We are children. We are supposed to act childish." The Hound laughs and says, "She's got you there", and Joffrey relents.

Myrcella doesn't cry when she is sent away on the ship to Dorne. In fact, she comforts Tommen, who is crying. Myrcella's ship actually doesn't sail directly to Dorne, but rather, sails to the Free City of Braavos across the Narrow Sea, in order to meet on neutral ground. When they reach Braavos, Myrcella and her attendants are received by Dornish envoys, who in turn transport them back across the Narrow Sea to Dorne.

After Joffrey is poisoned at his own wedding, several Martell characters remark that they are baffled at how Cersei doted on her psychotic eldest son to the exclusion of her younger children, when Myrcella is actually the kind of born ruler that Joffrey never was. While Cersei barely paid attention to her daughter, the Martells discover that she is preternaturally more intelligent than many adults (despite being only eleven years old), brave from living through Joffrey's torments, as well as kind and a natural leader due to defending her little brother Tommen from Joffrey when she could. They also find her to be quick-witted, and with a polite courtesy that Cersei never expressed.

According to the TV series official pronunciation guide developed for the cast and crew, "Myrcella" is pronounced "Mer-SELL-uh", as opposed to "MER-sull-uh" (that is, it doesn't rhyme with "Ursula").