Low Ceilings Are The Reason Game Of Thrones Couldn't Accurately Create The Books' Iron Throne

The Iron Throne is the ultimate prize everyone is trying to win in "Game of Thrones" and "House of the Dragon," which are both based on the book series by George R. R. Martin. Whoever sits upon this throne rules all of Westeros, is King or Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, and protector of the entire realm. Although there are smaller thrones that people can also claim, such as the Driftwood Throne, these positions are not as powerful because they rule over a smaller area, and they all still report to whoever sits on the Iron Throne. 

Located inside the Red Keep in King's Landing, the Iron Throne is described in the books by George R. R. Martin as being a dozen feet up in the air and made out of hundreds of swords. The number of swords used to sculpt the Iron Throne is meant to represent the number of enemies the King/Queen and their ancestors had defeated to sit upon that throne, so the massiveness of the Iron Throne is symbolically important.

However, in the TV series "Game of Thrones," the Iron Throne is much shorter and smaller than what is described in the books and is made out of dozens of swords rather than hundreds. It turns out that there is a very simple explanation for this.

In an interview with "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," George R. R. Martin said, "The original Iron Throne in the books is very tall, and the king sits up there, he's 10, 15 feet above everybody, looking down on the people. It was made by blacksmiths, it's not pretty, it's not symmetrical, it's full of hundreds and hundreds of swords." 

 Martin also explained why the Iron Throne in the TV series "Game of Thrones" does not exactly match the description from his books. "When we actually got to making 'Game of Thrones,' we didn't have a sound stage with a tall enough ceiling in order to fit it in there, so they made the one that's become kind of iconic for 'Game of Thrones.'" Although the Iron Throne in "Game of Thrones" is not as massive as described in the books, it is still recognizable as the Iron Throne because of it still pretty large, rough-looking, and made out of a large number of swords. 

Fans of "House of the Dragon" may have noticed that on that show, the Iron Throne is still not a dozen feet in the air, but it is larger and has more swords surrounding it, making it look even more intimidating. In fact, the Iron Throne on "House of the Dragon" is dangerous on set because it is partially made of real weapons. George R. R. Martin told Colbert, "But when we had the new show, we has a little more room and were able to expand it." Apparently, they were able to get higher ceilings for "House of the Dragon," allowing the Iron Throne to be represented as George R. R. Martin intended.