House Laurea is the official royal house of the Five Kingdoms, and has been ever since the extinction of the previous royal house, House Tuerie, thirty years ago. It was conflict between Laurea and Tuerie that sparked the Violet War, and House Laurea that led the uprising which ultimately resulted in the end of the Tuerie line.

King Doran, the reigning king of the Five Kingdoms and the head of the Laurea family, is married to Queen Leonora, and together, they have three children. These children are Princess (CELINE SINDEN), Crown-Prince (MAX IRONS) and Princess (CAITLIN STASEY). Although Princess (CELINE SINDEN) is the eldest of the Laurea children, it is her brother, Crown-Prince (MAX IRONS) that is to inherit the throne, as is custom for the eldest son to inherit before the eldest daughter. There is also a fourth known child of King Doran, (-). However, this child is a bastard, conceived by the king during his time spent away from home, fighting in a brief war against House Aegir. Following the death of his mother, the king shocked many by accepting the bastard into the palace, where he now resides. To add the the intrigue, no one save the queen is aware that the youngest princess, (CAITLIN STASEY), is in fact not Doran's daughter at all, but the result of a grief-sparked affair between Queen Leonora and Lord Elias of House Fiore.

House Fiore is renowned for always seeming to know where to place its bets. In reality, Lord Elias Fiore, tactical genius and close friend of King Doran, is responsible for perhaps one of the most reckless act of all -sleeping with the wife of his king. Fiore has always loved Leonora, whom he has been close to since childhood, and whilst there was and is indeed a mutual attraction between the two, Leonora ultimately ended up married and in love with his best friend, Doran. Instead, Elias wedded Lady Verity, a kind but frail woman, and had two children with her, the twins (ANEURIN BARNARD) and (MORGANE POLANSKI). However, following the discovery of her husband's infidelity through his bastard, grief and anger drove Queen Leonora into an affair with Elias.

After the affair, Leonora shut Elias off out of regret and fear, only to discover that she was pregnant with Elias' child. She has since passed (CAITLYN STASEY) off as Doran's child, and only the queen knows the truth. Meanwhile, Lady Verity died only a month ago from an illness that she finally succumbed to after a lifetime of battling it.

The loss of his wife has driven Elias to regret his affair more than ever before, and he has suddenly become determined to help his late wife in the only way he knows how- by ensuring their children live comfortably, happily and, most importantly, with power. Fortunately, Elias is renowned throughout the Five Kingdoms for his unmatched tactical and strategic brilliance in battle, and he has taught his children well.

The seat of Fiore is Ironhill, a fortified stronghold that neighbours the Capital, and is famously impenetrable.

House Erdem is one of the wealthiest of the Five Houses, but has a rather negative relationship with some of the other houses, in particular House Aegir. Erdem's territories border the mainland from which the Aegir Isles separate, and thus the two families are essentially 'neighbours'. There is bad blood between the two houses that harkens back centuries. It began when Aysun Erdem, -daughter of great general Cenk Erdem, and, according to the songs of many a singer, 'the most beautiful woman to have ever lived'- was spied by Ulric "Cat-Eye" Aegir. What is certain is that Aysun disappeared with Ulric, and in the battle to get her back, both Aysun and Ulric were killed. From there, the story changes depending on whom you hear it from. Erdem claims that Ulric kidnapped Aysun, whilst Aegir insist that the pair eloped, with Aysun having fallen head-over-heels for both the ruggedly handsome Ulric and the life of adventure and freedom that he promised. The issue has never been resolved, with the only people who could possibly know the truth being the subjects of the story themselves- two young souls, lost to the sea. House Erdem has only three children, all of whom are daughters. Current Lord Harun Erdem and his wife Lady Seda's two sons were both lost in the Violet War- the eldest, Taner, in battle (but not before killing Tuerie's heir, Crown-Prince Romain), and the younger, Yusuf, from an infection caused by a battle wound which he succumbed to only hours after the war came to an end. They were only seventeen and fifteen, respectively. The three Erdem daughters were both all after the war ended, and are famed for their beauty, and their 'wheat-gold hair', which runs in the family; (YASEMIN ALLEN), (ECE ÇESMIOGLU) and (ANASTASIA TSILIMPIOU).

House Moon has been ruling the country of Tsunseng for centuries. When House Tuerie's attempts to conquer Tsunseng failed, the two houses instead entered into a more cordial relationship. The two families have been at relative peace ever since. Unlike in the mainland of the Five kingdoms, it is common in Tsunseng for its kings and even some of its high lords to keep concubines.

The current King of Tsunseng and head of the Moon family, Hwanjin, has three concubines along with his wife, Queen Sukja. With these women, Hwanjin has five children. With Sukja, he has Crown-Prince (LEE SOO HYUK), whilst with the late Royal Noble Consort (RNC) Nari he has one son, Prince (WOO DO HWAN). With RNC Myeonsuk he has Prince (LEE DO HAN) and Princess (KANG HA NA). Finally, with RNC Kyungja he has Prince (CHA EUN WOO).

Because Tsunseng rulers have in the past been known to promote and demote heirs -something that is seldom permitted in the Mainland- rivalries, sabotage and even murder are not especially uncommon among Moon siblings. In fact, RNC Nari's passing is very much still stirring with doubt and suspicion, and many rumours surround her unexpected passing. The most prominent of these rumours is that that she died from poison rather than illness. The prime suspect in these rumours is Queen Sukja herself, in retaliation to Nari and her son's then-growing closeness to the King. Of course, this is all supposition, and one cannot know for sure.

To add to the rivalries, King Hwanjin is currently ailing from a disease which many belief will cause his death, and so he has sent his children to the festivities in his absence.

House Aegir is perhaps the most notorious house of the so-called 'Great Houses'. They are a warrior people that clung to their sovereignty long after other houses bent the knee to House Tuerie. It was only after a brutal and bloody war that they conceded, and even then there have been a number of rebellions that have broken out in the name of regaining their past power and freedom. The most notable of these rebellions is also the most recent. Several years after the end of the Violet War, the recently instated head of the Aegir household, the mighty Brynjar rallied his bannerman and sought to regain sovereignty of their people. The 'Fishking' war was brief but terrible, lasting only a month but managing to kill a vast many men. The naval battles between House Laurea and Aegir fell heavily in Brynjar's favour, and it was only when Brynjar's arrogance allowed Doran to coax him into one-on-one combat that Doran was able to kill Brynjar and bring the war to a sharp end. Leaving no children behind, Brynjar was instead succeeded by his brother, Lord Calder, who wed Lady Helka. The two have four children between them; (CLARA PAGET), (CHARLIE HUNNAM) and twins, (IDA MARIE NIELSON) and (MARCO ISLØ). Of all his children, Lord Calder particularly favours his eldest daughter, (CLARA PAGET), and has made clear his intention to have her as his heir rather than her older brother, (CHARLIE HUNNAM), as is the custom. Whilst still considered somewhat unusual, both female-before-male and younger-before-elder inheriting have occurred a numerous times in Aegir history.