absolute Dornish primogeniture as her father's undisputed heir; the plot to crown Myrcella Baratheon
Dorne's heir by right of birth alone, which is precisely the custom the rest of Westeros still finds strange
Arianne Martell is Prince Doran's eldest child and, under Dornish law's absolute primogeniture — eldest child inherits regardless of sex, a rule the rest of the Seven Kingdoms treats as an eccentricity rather than the plain justice Dorne considers it — heir to Sunspear in her own right, no brothers required to stand ahead of her in the line. That right made her father's apparent favoring of her younger brother Quentyn, sent abroad on missions of real consequence while she was kept at court and told little, read to her as something close to betrayal.
She answered it by conspiring, without her father's knowledge and against his stated interests, to crown Myrcella Baratheon queen with Dornish backing — a plot built from allies within her own household guard and companions, and one that did not survive contact with Ser Gerold Dayne, called Darkstar, once he took a hand in it uninvited. The scheme's collapse forced a reckoning between Arianne and her father that the Citadel's latest word from Sunspear treats as a genuine turning point in how much Doran is willing to confide in her.
What role she plays in her father's longer plan now that the two of them have finally spoken plainly is, as of the latest word reaching the Citadel, still being written. What is already clear is that Dorne's next ruler, whenever that succession comes, has already shown she will act on her own judgment when she believes her house's cause demands it — for good or for the considerable trouble that judgment can cause.
Appearances
In the novels
A Feast for CrowsPOV
A Dance with Dragons
Perspective
Arianne's AFFC chapters follow Dorne's heir chafing against exclusion from her father's counsel, giving the clearest inside view of Dornish succession law and the grievance it can still cause elsewhere in the Seven Kingdoms.
Key events
unrecordedRaised at Sunspear as Prince Doran's eldest child and heir under Dornish law.
before 300 ACWatched her brother Quentyn sent abroad on missions of consequence while she was kept close and told little.
300 ACConspired, without her father's knowledge, to crown Myrcella Baratheon queen with Dornish backing.
300 ACThe plot unraveled when Gerold Dayne took the scheme further than she intended.
300 ACArrested on her father's own order for her role in the conspiracy.
300 ACLearned from Doran that her exclusion from his confidence had been protection, not distrust.
Reading the character
Arianne Martell's grievance is built on a right the rest of Westeros doesn't grant its own daughters: absolute Dornish primogeniture makes her heir to Sunspear outright, no brothers required to stand ahead of her, which makes her father's apparent favoring of her younger brother read as something close to betrayal rather than mere parental preference. Her whole plot to crown Myrcella grows directly out of that reading, mistaken as it turns out to be.
What makes her more than a cautionary tale about acting on incomplete information is what the failed conspiracy actually earns her: not punishment alone, but her father's long-withheld trust, once he judges the danger past. A princess who has already shown she'll act on her own judgment when she believes Dorne's cause demands it is, by the time her story catches up to the present, precisely the ruler her house's next chapter is likely to need — for good or for the trouble that judgment can still cause.
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House
Who is Arianne Martell?
Dorne's heir by right of birth alone, which is precisely the custom the rest of Westeros still finds strange
Is Arianne Martell from the books or the show?
Book canon. This profile follows George R. R. Martin’s novels and histories, and notes where the television series diverges rather than following it.