The North was formerly one of the constituent regions of the Seven Kingdoms after the Targaryen conquest, but seceded during the War of the Five Kings under King in the North Robb Stark. Following the Red Wedding, the North returned to the jurisdiction of the Iron Throne under House Bolton. After House Stark  regained control of the region, the North once again seceded under Jon Snow, who later pledged the North to Queen Daenerys Targaryen in exchange for House Targaryen's aid during the Great War. The North was finally allowed to become independent again by King Bran Stark following Daenerys Targaryen's war for Westeros which resulted in the assassination of the Dragon Queen at the hands of Jon Snow as well as the election of the youngest surviving Stark child. After convincing her brother King Bran to regain independence, Sansa Stark was crowned the Queen in the North.

The North is ruled from the castle of Winterfell by House Stark. It is the largest of the nine major regions of the continent, almost equal in size to the other eight combined. Its total population is under one million. The North is also considered the poorest region of the Seven Kingdoms. According to legend, the Kingdom of the North was established eight thousand years ago by Bran the Builder, the founder of House Stark, who constructed the Wall as a shield against the possible return of the White Walkers. The North is the only region where the First Men were able to successfully resist the Andal Invasion, six thousand years before the War of the Five Kings.

The borders of the North are held to be the Sunset Sea to the west and the Shivering Sea to the east, the Wall to the north and the hills and bogs of the Neck to the south. Greywater Watch and its ruling house, House Reed, are the southernmost noble family owing fealty to Winterfell. Likewise, Last Hearth and its ruling house, House Umber, are the northernmost noble family sworn to Winterfell. Beyond Last Hearth comes the lands of the Gift under the control of the politically neutral Night's Watch and eventually the Wall itself. In the northwestern coast of the North is the large Bay of Ice in the Sunset Sea. Bear Island, the seat of House Mormont, is in the central portion of the bay. The southern coast of the Bay of Ice is just north of the large forested Wolfswood. The peninsula Sea Dragon Point is surrounded by the bay. In the northeastern coast of the North lies the Bay of Seals in the Shivering Sea. The large and remote Skagos and the smaller Skane are both in the bay as part of an island group all considered parts of the North.

Notable places shown in the series are: