Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings. This week’s Femme Fatale Friday post is about one of my favorite Game of Thrones characters, Margaery Tyrell! I knew she would be a favorite before even reading the books or watching the series because I knew she was played by the incredible Natalie Dormer. In fact, knowing that Natalie Dormer was in the cast was part of what got me interested in reading the novels and watching the series. I already had an interest, given my love of fantasy and history, but that really made me certain I wanted to consume this particular piece of art! Reading the novels and watching the series definitely solidified Margaery Tyrell as a character who I just adored.
Margaery is first introduced as the wife of Renly Baratheon in the second novel, A Clash of Kings (but she is mentioned briefly in the first novel, A Game of Thrones). That is why she only makes her first appearance in the second season of the television series! For a bit of background, Margaery grew up in great privilege in Highgarden, being a member of one of the Great Houses of the realm.
Now, onto her story and portrayal in Game of Thrones, as I will be focusing on the television series mainly, given it is complete, whereas the last two novels are still being written. She is portrayed as being very close to her brother Loras, who is known as the Knight of Flowers, a reference to the Tyrell crest being a Rose. She had married Renly, who she knew was her brother Loras’s lover, as it helped everyone involved, providing Renly with the potential for an heir that helped his play for the throne! So, obviously, it is made quite clear from the outset that Margaery is a very pragmatic character.
One of the main descriptors of Margaery Tyrell is that she is as beautiful as she is clever. This is shown to be true time and again over the course of the series. When Renly is killed under mysterious circumstances, Margaery smartly convinces Loras to flee with her so that they find their way to safety. This eventually leads to Margaery getting betrothed to Joffrey Baratheon after he offered Loras to make any request he wanted in gratitude for the Knight’s valor. So, the betrothal between Joffrey and Sansa is dissolved, and Margaery is still set to be a Baratheon Queen, just as she was with Renly!
Once again, pragmatically, Margaery takes pains to stroke Joffrey’s ego, stating that she loved and admired him from afar. Margaery certainly shows in her charm and charisma that she has properly learned to play the Game of Courtly Love, flirting, and being a gregarious hostess at gatherings! She is also very willing to go out of her way to interact with and show compassion to the people of her Kingdom, like when she made an impromptu stop in Flea Bottom against the advice of all who she was with. Yet, Margaery persisted and visited an orphanage to give out bread and toys, with her empathy winning over the peasants of King’s Landing quite easily! This event is one that annoyed Cersei to no end, not only because she disliked Margaery’s boldness but also because Joffrey had defended Margaery against his mother’s criticism. This event proved that Margaery’s gentle and soft way of treating those around her may just be more effective at garnering the support of the people than Cersei’s more outright manipulation and fear tactics! After all, Margaery’s actions easily won the hearts and minds of the people she met.
One of the treats of Margaery’s story during her engagement to Joffrey is getting to see her interact with her grandmother, Olenna. With the charm and incredible intelligence of Olenna, it is very easy to see where Margaery had learned much of her ability to survive and thrive at royal courts. I have always really adored how Olenna presents herself and how proud she is of her family, but with a nature of intelligence and clear-sightedness. She is very kind to Sansa as she and Margaery grow close and truly empathizes with the young girl who is scared of having to marry Joffrey after she reveals the depth of his cruelty to the Tyrells. It is Olenna who assured her that Mace, Margaery’s father, was very set on having Margaery make a royal marriage and would not stray from that course for anything, including the cruelty of the future spouse.
Although Margaery is easily able to charm Joffrey in the beginning, things do not remain so easy for her, as Cersei is able to plant seeds of doubt in Joffrey, making it much less easy for Margaery to manage her fiance. When confronted with an uncomfortable conversation about her sex life with her first husband, as the rumors of his sexuality were widespread, she deftly assured Joffrey that she had never bedded Renly, and is able to gain Joffrey’s sympathy. Margaery even deftly distracted him in this instance by flirting with him by discussing a new crossbow, having keyed in on his sadistic streak and love of hunting. Being a young woman from a royal background, it is admirable that Margaery is so capable of managing herself in such a dangerous situation. It truly does show her bravery as well as her intellect!
As the plans for Joffrey and Margaery’s wedding are underway, Margaery and Sansa continue to grow closer. Margaery even offers to try and arrange a marriage between Sansa and her brother Loras after she and Joffrey are wed, making them sisters and cementing a place for Sansa in Highgarden! Of course, this does not work out, as Sansa ends up being forced to wed Tyrion Lannister instead, but Margaery certainly had wanted to help before the interference of the Lannisters. Margaery is even the one who tries to console Sansa by reminding her that Tyrion is far from the worst of the Lannisters.
It is not long after Sansa and Tyrion’s marriage that Margaery and Joffrey’s wedding finally takes place. While the wedding itself goes off without any issue, Joffrey’s cruelty is on full and very public display at their wedding feast. This leads to one of the most memorable scenes in the series, where Joffrey is poisoned at the wedding feast, dying in front of Margaery and all of the Court!
After the events at her disastrous wedding feast, Margaery leans on her grandmother Olenna, feeling uncertain of her place. Olenna reassured Margaery that she was more of a Queen at that time than she ever had been, but the lack of consummation of both her marriages does put things up in the air! It is at that time Margaery is told by Olenna to pursue a third marriage to Tommen Baratheon while Cersei is distracted after Joffrey’s death. Olenna also implied to Margaery that it was she who poisoned Joffrey so that her granddaughter would not have to be married to such a beastly man! Which I view as further proof of just how protective Olenna is of her loved one, willing to commit regicide to prevent her granddaughter from being married to a tyrannical King.
Margaery took her grandmother’s advice in visiting Tommen and gaining his trust, being kind and loving towards him, and bonding over the fact that both feared Joffrey. She is also smart to realize that with Tommen’s youth, she should begin their relationship by acting in a motherly way instead of using the seductive wiles used with other older men. It is not long before Margaery’s wedding to Tommen is set for just a fortnight after his coronation, and Margaery has to witness the trial of Tyrion Lannister with a heart full of guilt (as she knew it was her grandmother who was guilty not Tyrion).
Margaery and Tommen successfully wed and consummate their marriage, putting Margaery finally in the position of being an official Queen. She is also easily able to manipulate Tommen into suggesting that Cersei be sent away. Margaery even gets much bolder in antagonizing Cersei now that she is firmly seated in her position of Queen at long last after two marriages that ended in tragedy!
This happiness does not last, as Loras ends up being arrested, and Margaery knows it was Cersei’s doing but has trouble convincing Tommen of that fact. Cersei had been unwillingly engaged to Loras, giving an ideal motive to try and get him out of the way. Even with Olenna coming back to aid Margaery and give her advice, Loras’s trial is still a sham. In fact, Margaery herself gets arrested for supposedly giving false testimony at the trial!
Cersei did visit Margaery after her arrest, which further confirmed to Margaery that her and her brother’s downfall had been orchestrated by Cersei. The time that Margaery spends in her captivity is punctuated with religious diatribes on sin and her having to repeatedly state that she did not commit the sins that she is accused of. However, she is honest in stating that ‘everyone makes mistakes’ when asked if she is ‘wholly without sin.’ This whole story arc for Margaery reminds me greatly of Anne Bolyen’s imprisonment in the Tower of London, only with her mother-in-law being the puppet master behind the imprisonment. It makes for an interesting alignment and is very poignant, given that in the series, she is portrayed by Natalie Dormer (as I mentioned at the beginning of the post), and Natalie Dormer is also my favorite actress to ever play Anne Boleyn!
During this time in captivity, Margaery becomes newly devoted to the Faith and is allowed to see her husband not long after this, given that the religious leaders clearly wanted her to support them in convincing Tommen to unite the Crown and the Faith. This is again something that brings about a correlation between Anne Boleyn and Margaery, as Anne Boleyn was famously a player in the Protestant Reformation, giving Henry VIII books considered heretical at the time! As a side note, given I did not mention it above, Margaery’s skill at Courtly Love Games is also something that Anne Boleyn was famed for. Margaery goes on to convince Tommen to unite politics and religion, winning her freedom from jail. Her new Faith and Tommen’s conversion to the Faith end up saving Margaery from performing a walk of atonement!
The way Margaery takes to her new Faith and finds solace in these beliefs, whether one interprets this as brainwashing, or as a genuine love of the Faith is interesting. Because it does provide character development for Margaery, softening her ambition and making her realize that her desires are different from what they once were. Of course, her story ends sadly with Margaery, her father, and Loras all dying as a huge wildfire erupted in the Great Sept of Baelor after the trial of Loras and Cersei (who had been arrested after Margaery was released). Of course, the death of her political rival makes Cersei happy until Tommen commits suicide at the loss of his wife! So, yes, thus ends the sad story of Margaery Tyrell.
As I stated at the beginning of this post, I have always adored Margaery as a character, and I am always genuinely sad when I re-watch season six and see her die. She was a very complex character, as many in this fantasy series are. Margaery was equal parts cunning and soft, calculating and empathetic, warm but with a backbone of steel. I think that the casting was ideal for this role in the series, especially as I have given some comparisons between Margaery and Anne Boleyn!
I hope you have enjoyed reading my character analysis and ruminations on the story of Margaery Tyrell. As a side note, the Wiki of Westeros was a great source in making sure that I covered all the talking points I wanted to cover when discussing her tale. After all, as a story with such a complex narrative, I wanted to ensure I hit the points I wanted. If you want a full breakdown of every aspect of her story, without the commentary I added, I will link that down below. Do you enjoy Margaery as a character? How did you feel about her death? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is a beautiful photo of Natalie Dormer as Margaery. I found the picture on https://ch.pinterest.com/pin/255086766383115582/.
Announcement: I am delighted to announce that I am teaching another live in-person Herbal Tea Blending Class at the shop Phoenix Lane this Sunday, January 12, 2025! This class has a Valentine’s Day theme and is the perfect way to get yourself ready to celebrate, whether you want to draw in passion, celebrate the love you share with your beloved, or deepen into self-love. If you are interested in joining, here is the event link: https://www.facebook.com/share/15DpbmYMct/
LINK TO AVALONIAN ROSE FAERY MYSTERIES PATREON: patreon.com/AvalonianRoseFaeryMysteries
Further Reading/Watching
- A Song of Fire and Ice Series by George R.R. Martin
- Game of Thrones (2011)
- https://gameofthrones.fandom.com/wiki/Margaery_Tyrell