The Royal Incest That Inspired the Writing of ‘Game of Thrones’

In the last season of Game of Thrones, Jaime Lannister broke free from the sexual and psychological grip of his twin sister, Queen Cersei, only to return to her side when she faced the most serious military threat to her rule.

“Cersei is hateful, and so am I,” he told Brienne of Tarth, his distraught lover, as he rode away — to his death, it turned out.

From the first episode of the the first season of HBO’s Game of Thrones, this brother-sister love affair shocked audiences. A child, Bran Stark…