Rose Leslie reveals the ONE Game Of Thrones scene she hopes her children never see as she credits Iceland's brutal winter for sparking off-screen romance with Kit Harington

Daily Mail​

28-05-2025

As career-defining moments go it doesn't get more dramatic than a racy sex-scene in a cave on a snow-capped mountain with the man who will ultimately become your off-screen husband.
But despite its obvious personal resonance, actress Rose Leslie has singled it out as the one Game Of Thrones scene she would rather her children avoid once they're old enough to watch the hit HBO show.
Leslie, 38, was a relative unknown when she was cast as Ygritte, a flame-haired wildling 'spearwife' who begins a sexual relationship with Kit Harington's Jon Snow during the show's second season.
But while she's happy for her two children with Harington, who she married in 2018, to 'celebrate' the role Game Of Thrones played in their relationship, the Scottish actress admits she's reluctant to let them watch a pivotal scene in which Snow's virginity is claimed by the feisty wildling in a remote cave.
Speaking to the July issue of Tatler, she said: 'I don't think it's our decision. I think if they wish to see Mum and Dad do their thing – I mean, I'm not talking about the cave scene, I'd rather not – but the other scenes and whatnot... there is something celebratory about it.'
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Rose Leslie has discussed her iconic role in Game Of Thrones and why she's reluctant for her children with husband Kit Harington to watch their sex scene in the show
Leslie, 38, was a relative unknown when she was cast as Ygritte, a flame-haired wildling 'spearwife' who begins a sexual relationship with Kit Harington's Jon Snow (pictured)
With Iceland's sweeping tundra chosen as the inhospitable and largely uninhabited northern territories documented in author George R.R. Martin's fantasy book series, Leslie and Harington were instantly thrust together by virtue of a difficult shooting schedule.
She recalled: 'It was my first time going to Iceland, and what an introduction. It was in the winter, which meant we only had four hours of daylight to shoot.
'So we'd wrap at 2:00pm and then we'd have the rest of the afternoon and the evening.
'Because it was in the middle of nowhere, we were all sitting together in the same hotel, so you got to know everyone, there was a real camaraderie.'
The couple subsequently married in a ceremony attended by Game Of Thrones co-stars Sophie Turner, Emilia Clarke and Peter Dinklage.
Leslie and Harington travelled two miles from Wardhill Castle, the sprawling estate owned by her family, to Rayne Church, in Kirkton of Rayne, for the service conducted by Benedictine monk father Chad Boulton.
An ostentatious affair, the ceremony was reflective of Leslie's affluent upbringing as the daughter of Scottish aristocracy; her father is Sebastian Arbuthnot-Leslie, Chieftain of the Aberdeenshire branch of the Scottish Clan Leslie, and her mother Candida Mary Sibyl Leslie, of Clan Fraser of Lovat.
Leslie and Harington were instantly thrust together by virtue of a difficult shooting schedule on location in Iceland, with the crew only able to film for four hours a day before it got dark
Read the full feature in the July issue of Tatler available via digital download and on newsstands from Thursday 5th June
The Leslie Clan had worshipped at Rayne Church for hundreds of years and its walls are adorned with plaques to their many ancestors.
Their graves fill the small church yard which is surrounded by a high stone wall.
Leslie attended the tiny Rayne Primary primary school down the road as a young girl.
'God I felt so elated that day,' she recalled.
'It was the culmination of marrying the love of my life, in the home that I was incredibly happy in, bringing all my friends to Scotland and the joy of that day was just fantastic… because it was at home in the garden, we carried on [all night].'
And the actress says she feels fully 'anchored to her Celtic roots' after growing up in rural Aberdeenshire with her four siblings.
She said: 'The Scottish Highlands evoke hope, and with the wind – and the rain – in my face, I feel very anchored and secure.
'I had an incredibly privileged childhood. It was very remote, I felt very loved, I had space to go outside and play and I had siblings to play with.
'We had lots of dogs, it was all about being outside and making dens in this big rhododendron bush.
'I think that helps with the imagination of 'play' and that was really kind of instilled in all of us.'
Read the full feature in the July issue of Tatler available via digital download and on newsstands from Thursday 5th June.
Leslie and Harington (pictured in 2021) married in a ceremony attended by Game Of Thrones co-stars Sophie Turner, Emilia Clarke and Peter Dinklage