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Wiki of Westeros
House Martell
House Martell

"The new Prince of Dorne pledges his support."
Varys to Daenerys Targaryen[src]

A Prince of Dorne rules over Dorne after the defeat of Ellaria Sand, whose coup resulted in the deaths of Doran and Trystane Martell.

Biography[]

Game of Thrones: Season 8[]

By the time the Battle of Winterfell was over, he managed to take control of Dorne and become the new Prince of Dorne. While planning for the Last War, Varys mentions that the prince has pledged his support to Daenerys.[1]

The prince is present at the Dragonpit during the trial of Tyrion, which takes place weeks after the assassination of Daenerys. He wields a scimitar, with the pommel shaped like the head of a cobra, a weapon previously owned (though rarely used) by Oberyn Martell.[2][3] Though mostly unconcerned with what was to be decided, on account of Dorne's geographical separation from the rest of Westeros, the prince is present at the council to curry favor and to possibly line-up a political marriage.[4]

When the discussion turns from a trial into the election of a monarch, the prince is more intrigued with what is going on, but he is uninterested in becoming king. He initially listens to Edmure Tully making his case to be king, taking him seriously, as the prince had never met Edmure before, until Edmure is effectively dismissed by his niece, Sansa.[4] He ultimately consents to electing Bran as the Lord of the Six Kingdoms after Tyrion proposes it.[2]

Behind the scenes[]

Oberyn scimitar

The scimitar sword designed and made for Oberyn Martell; Oberyn never used this scimitar on-screen, instead using his spear. The prop was re-used for Toby Osmond's character in the finale.

The new Prince of Dorne is not identified by name or House in the series, but he wears the colors and the sigil of House Martell. The actor, Toby Osmond, specifically researched and emulated Prince Oberyn Martell for the role and reports appeared during production, stating that he was playing a younger brother of Doran and Oberyn Martell.[5]

A letter bearing the sun symbol of House Martell can also be seen in "The Last of the Starks", when Varys mentions the arrival of the Golden Company to King's Landing.[1]

The new Prince could alternatively possibly be Manfrey Martell (Doran's cousin) or Quentyn Martell (Doran's other son), but these characters were never introduced in the TV series. In Season 2, Tyrion refers to Trystane Martell as the youngest son of House Martell (without mentioning his first name), implying the existence of others.[6] As Trystane is established to be Doran's heir in Season 5, and is the only child of Doran's shown in the series, it is unclear if this is a retcon or if any potential older siblings died between seasons 2 and 5. Doran's heir in the books is his daughter Arianne Martell, also never introduced in the TV series. The unidentified prince may also be a character exclusive to the TV continuity.

In a subsequent interview, Toby Osmond has stated that a lot of fans suggested that he was playing Quentyn Martell to him, but that he didn't believe that to be true as he was much older than Toby Sebastian, who played Trystane Martell. Osmond has in subsequent interviews maintained that he, in his mind, was playing Doran's and Oberyn's younger brother,[7] as he considers himself too old to be Doran's son but similar enough in appearance to Doran and Oberyn.[4] In the book series, Doran and Oberyn had two additional brothers: Mors and Olyvar Martell, but both died as infants. Due to Osmond's insistence that he played a brother of Doran and Oberyn, a 2019 article in Screen Rant speculated that he was either Mors or Olyvar, who could have survived to adulthood in the TV continuity.[8] According to Osmond, the character's name was revealed to him during production but he assumed it was a name invented for the TV series.[3]

Though Osmond's character is visibly impressed by Sansa's bid for northern independence in his scene,[4] Osmond believes that the prince did not stake an independence claim of his own due to being preoccupied, only just recently having become Prince of Dorne. He believes it is possible that the prince could lead a Dornish uprising at a later date, or possibly even invade other parts of the Seven Kingdoms, weakened by the recent wars.[9]

In the books[]

In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Dorne is still ruled by Prince Doran of House Martell.

As of now, it is impossible to say whether the unnamed show character has an equivalent in the books, as too little information has been given on him.

Appearances[]

References[]

External links[]


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