Game Of Thrones Finally Confirms 2 Major House Stark Theories After 26 Years

Published Jul 29, 2026, 8:15 PM EDT Angel Shaw is a Lead Writer and Critic on ScreenRant's TV team, covering new-release and classic TV shows across all major streaming platforms. She has been a writer with ScreenRant since 2022 and specializes in Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and fantasy. Angel holds a bachelor's degree in language interpreting and is passionate about all things culture and communication—especially in how it relates to popular media throughout history (from Shakespeare to Friends to Game of Thrones). Sign in to your ScreenRant account Warning! Spoilers for Game of Thrones: The Mad King ahead!After 26 years of questioning, the Game of Thrones franchise finally just delivered some answers. Before you get too excited, this hasn't got anything to do with George R.R. Martin's long-awaited Winds of Winter or A Dream of Spring. The author is still hard at work on the final two books of his central A Song of Ice and Fire series, so we can only continue to wait patiently (or as patiently as possible). However, in the meantime, a brand new prequel has hit the scene. This one isn't on the big screen or small, but rather on the stage at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Game of Thrones: The Mad King officially premieres in Stratford-upon-Avon on August 8, 2026. However, preview shows kicked off on July 28, so we've officially had our first batch of major spoilers. The live stage play revolves largely around the Tourney at Harrenhal, which is when Prince Rhaegar Targaryen crowned Lady Lyanna Stark the Queen of Love and Beauty rather than his own wife, Elia Martell. This was an early catalyst for Robert's Rebellion, the Mad King's downfall, and Rhaegar's death at the Trident. While we won't all be fortunate enough to watch The Mad King live, a fan account on X (GOT The Mad King Updates) has offered the inside scoop, detailing every big revelation and epic moment. A Song of Ice and Fire enthusiasts have been theorizing about the more mysterious events of the Tourney at Harrenhal for nearly three decades now, especially as it relates to House Stark. For example, it's been heavily guessed that the mysterious Knight of the Laughing Tree was really Lyanna in disguise. Now, this and other theories have been confirmed. Lyanna Stark's Deception At The Tourney At Harrenhal Explained Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire books have provided varying accounts of the Tourney at Harrenhal from a couple of different character perspectives. What is clear across the board is that, after winning the tournament, Rhaegar Targaryen rode past his wife to crown Lyanna Stark as the Queen of Love and Beauty. Additionally, there was a nameless knight who competed in defense of the crannogman who was bullied by a few squires. Known as the Knight of the Laughing Tree, this fighter's veiled identity angered King Aerys, but after one day of competing, they completely disappeared. The Knight of the Laughing Tree was short, wore ill-fitting armor, and held a shield decorated with a smiling weirwood tree. They easily defeated three knights before vanishing. It's been heavily theorized ever since 2000's A Storm of Swords that the Knight of the Laughing Tree was really Lyanna Stark, who was known to have come to the crannogman's rescue after beating the bullying squires away with a wooden sword. Game of Thrones: The Mad King confirms that Lyanna disguised herself as a man to challenge the masters of these three squires, requiring the knights to punish them in order to ransom back their horses and gold. In addition to revealing the identity of the Knight of the Laughing Tree, The Mad King once again confirms that Rhaegar's infatuation with Lyanna wasn't unrequited. The pair were in a love affair, which Rhaegar's wife, Elia, knew all about and supported. Additionally, this stage play reveals, seemingly once and for all, that Jon Snow is the child of this Targaryen prince and Stark lady and most certainly not the son of Ashara Dayne. GOT: The Mad King Finally Reveals Who Fathered Ashara Dayne's Baby Credit: MovieStillsDB It's been fairly clear for years that the Tourney at Harrenhal was the key to understanding the truth about Jon Snow's mother. It's because of this event that the R+L=J (Rhaegar plus Lyanna equals Jon) theory developed—but there was an alternative theory that gained some traction. Martin made it absolutely clear through every account of the Tourney that Ned Stark danced with Lady Ashara Dayne. It was then rumored that she was "dishonored" that very night and later became pregnant. Ashara died by suicide the next year, and there were whispers of a stillborn daughter or stolen son. Martin used these rumors to plant the idea that Ashara was Jon Snow's mother. Ned notably wouldn't talk about Ashara in A Game of Thrones, further suggesting that he had taken her child to raise in Winterfell, leaving the mother in terrible grief. However, Game of Thrones: The Mad King reveals that this was a red herring. It's heavily suggested that the person who "dishonored" Ashara was Ned's brother, Brandon Stark. Together, they conceived a daughter who was stillborn around the time that Brandon Stark was executed by King Aerys. What This All Means For Jon Snow (& Daenerys Targaryen) Filling in the gaps regarding these key details of the Tourney at Harrenhall has massive implications for the overarching story. Of course, HBO's Game of Thrones revealed that Lyanna was Jon Snow's mother, but without confirmation from Martin's books, this couldn't be definitively considered canon. Now, however, we can surely conclude that R+L=J is precisely how Martin intended it, since he worked closely with the creators of The Mad King (writer Duncan Macmillan and director Dominic Cook). Surely, both this stage play and Game of Thrones didn't get that wrong. Still, The Mad King's version of how Jon came to be born doesn't necessarily mean the same thing for his book character as it did in HBO's Game of Thrones. The stage play also happens to confirm that Rhaegar and Lyanna were not married, so Jon really is a bastard. Additionally, he was never named Aegon. This means that he wouldn't be as much a threat to Daenerys, since she would inherit the throne before him. Among the other spoilers from The Mad King is that Rhaegar and Lyanna both shared dreams related to the Prince that was Promised prophecy. They believed that they were meant to be together in service to it, and had a joint vision of Daenerys Targaryen with her dragons. What's more, it appears that both Jon and Daenerys were conceived on the same night under a red comet, suggesting that they are both fulfillments of the prophecy, though it's not definitively confirmed. These are all pretty significant revelations, and would mean that Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series will conclude similarly to, but certainly not the same as, HBO's Game of Thrones. Of course, we can't know for certain just how much of Game of Thrones: The Mad King can be considered canon, even with Martin's seal of approval. There's more waiting to do, but this is about as good a confirmation as can be given any time soon. TV Show(s) Game Of Thrones, House of the Dragon, A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms First TV Show Game Of Thrones Cast Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Sophie Turner, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Maisie Williams, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Iain Glen, John Bradley, Alfie Allen, Conleth Hill, Liam Cunningham, Gwendoline Christie, Aidan Gillen, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Rory McCann, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jerome Flynn, Rhys Ifans, Matt Smith, Graham McTavish, Fabien Frankel, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Emma D'Arcy, Matthew Needham, Olivia Cooke, Milly Alcock, Emily Carey Created by George R.R. Martin Game of Thrones is a multimedia franchise created by George R.R. Martin. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire is the basis for the award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones, which lasted for eight seasons. After the incredibly divisive final season of Game of Thrones, the series was followed up by the prequel series House of the Dragon, which also received critical acclaim.