On his deathbed, King Robert I Baratheon dictates his will to his Hand and old friend, Lord Eddard Stark. He commands Ned to rule in his stead as Lord Regent and Protector of the Realm until his son, Joffrey comes of age. Having found out that the king has no trueborn sons, Ned replaces Joffrey's name on the will with "rightful heir." Robert signs, they bid goodbye and the war for the Iron Throne in Game of Thrones ripens. Before this went down, the honorable Ned foolishly chose to tell shrewd Queen Cersei Lannister that he had learned the truth about her children's birth, in that, they were fathered by her brother, Jaime Lannister, and not the king. In doing so, Ned essentially signed his own death warrant because there was no way Cersei would let him walk unharmed. Neither would she give up the throne to Robert's younger brother and now the rightful heir, Stannis Baratheon.