The Queen Eyes The Iron Throne, Is Not Impressed

The fantasy world of George R. R. Martin got a dose of reality when Queen Elizabeth II visited the set of Game of Thrones in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Tuesday. The real-life monarch toured the set at Belfast's Titanic Studios, escorted by the show's creators, David Benioff and Dan Weiss. When the queen was offered a seat on the show's infamous Irone Throne — which would have come with complete control over the Seven Kingdoms — she politely declined, but not before eying it up and down.

One can only imagine the thoughts of power and dragons and smacking the smug look off of Joffrey that must have flashed through her head.

As Benioff and Weiss took Elizabeth and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, through Titanic Studios, she browsed the elaborate costumes, the props (most likely including some pretty savage weapons), and the cavernous sets where many of the show's indoor scenes are filmed (Red Wedding dining hall perhaps?). The studio even houses the sets for the sweeping ice-climbing scenes.

Several of the show's stars had the privilege of meeting Her Majesty, including Lena Headey (the evil Cersei Lannister), Maisie Williams (the badass Arya Stark), Sophie Turner (the weepy Sansa Stark), Kit Herington (the babely Jon Snow), Rose Leslie (the intimidating Ygritte), and Conleth Hill (the shady Lord Varys).

Whether the queen actually watches the show is unclear, but surely even the Head of the Commonwealth and Supreme Governor of the Church of England must have been disappointed that Peter Dinklage wasn't there — because who wouldn't want to meet Tyrian Lannister?

Since the HBO show started filming in 2009, the production has created 900 full-time and 5,700 part-time jobs in Northern Ireland, boosting the economy by 82 million pounds. Earlier in the day, the queen and duke visited the infamous Crumlin Road jail, which housed some of the most dangerous paramilitaries in the world. She was greeted by ex-IRA chief of staff Martin McGuinness, who served time in the prison in 1976.

Before the day was over, Queen Elizabeth did take a piece of the Iron Throne with her when Weiss gifted her a miniature version of the sword-covered chair. We wonder if the queen will start watching the epic fantasy series on HBO Go now that she's had a behind-the-scenes glimpse.

But even more than that, we wonder exactly what she was thinking as she stood inches from the most powerful seat in Westeros. Personally, I think she's thinking, "I wonder if Harrods makes a nice cushion for that monstrosity. It could really use a splash of color."