When we began our History of Thrones series examining important events and people from the complex and controversial past of Westeros, we were searching for clues about what might happen on Game of Thrones. What we didn’t know at the time was that HBO would one day bring some of those stories to the screen, too. House of the Dragon takes place long before Daenerys brought dragons back to the Realm. But before she tried to reclaim her family’s Iron Throne, another Targaryen woman fought to sit upon it, Rhaenyra Targaryen. If you want to learn all about Princess Rhaenyra and why we believed her story was a harbinger of things to come on Game of Thrones, here’s everything you need to know about her life and brief reign long. Just be warned, this tragic tale is full of spoilers.
You can find all other History of Thrones entries here.
Rhaenyra Targaryen, The First Woman To Claim The Iron Throne
Game of Thrones’ sixth season ended with Cersei Lannister as queen of Westeros, but only after innumerable tragedy and unspeakable acts of horror. She has the support of few friends, is beset by enemies on all sides, and, if all that isn’t bad enough, she doesn’t have any dragons at her disposal like the only other woman to claim the Iron Throne before her.
Because while Cersei is the first official female queen of the Seven Kingdoms, she is not the first woman to sit in Aegon the Conqueror’s royal chair as Westeros’s ruler. That title belongs to the Half-Year Queen, Rhaenyra Targaryen. She briefly held King’s Landing during the infamous Targaryen Civil War known as the Dance of the Dragons.
King Viserys Targaryen Names Rhaenyra His Heir
The war of succession between Rhaenyra and her half-brother Aegon II got its name both from its combatants and the dragons who fought each other over the skies of the Seven Kingdoms. But the story begins long before, back to her childhood.
Rhaenyra, born in 97 AC, was the only surviving child of King Viserys and his first wife, Aemma Arryn. Their first son died as an infant. And their second son passed away a day after Queen Aemma died during birth.
To ensure that his brother Daemon was not his heir, Viserys announced in 105 AC that Rhaenyra, already a dragonrider, would follow him on the throne. The King made the Lords of Westeros swear fealty to his eight-year-old daughter as the lawful successor to the crown. She was named the Princess of Dragonstone, and thereafter was always by her father’s side, becoming known as the Realm’s Delight. Rhaenyra was beautiful, with classic, old Valyrian looks. But while a popular figure (early in life), she was also a proud woman with a temper.
King Viserys’s Son and the Birth of Civil War
Viserys thought the matter of succession was established for good in 105 AC. He had reason to believe it was. He ascended to the Iron Throne without issue after the Great Council of 101 AC named him King Jaehaerys’s heir. But a year after naming Rhaenyra’s his, he remarried. He wedded Alicent Hightower, daughter of his Hand Ser Otto Hightower. Their union is what set the future civil war set in motion, even if the king didn’t realize it. Because a year after they wed, King Viserys and Queen Alicent had a son (107 AC), Aegon, followed by a daughter and two other sons.
You can probably see where this is going.
Sons, no matter their date of birth, always came before daughters in the line of succession. And with the King now having two surviving boys, it was thought he would name his eldest son the rightful heir. But Viserys refused to change his mind. He said he had already named his successor and that the lords of the Realm had sworn to honor his wish and will. Not everyone wanted those vows kept, though.
Ser Otto Hightower Loses His Position For Questioning Rhaenyra’s Claim
Viserys’ Hand and father of the Queen, Otto Hightower, pushed the issue of succession after his grandson’s birth so often Viserys dismissed him from both his position and King’s Landing. The formerly warm relationship between queen and the princess grew also cold. From their enmity two factions grew at court. The “Blacks” supported Rhaenyra. The “Greens” backed the Queen. (The names were eferences to dresses each woman wore at a large tournament).
During this time the two most important men in Rhaenyra’s life were her uncle Daemon and Ser Criston Cole. She was very fond of both of them, and them of her. Her history with both was, for lack of a better word, complicated. But what we know of her relationship with each help explain future events.
The Men Who Loved Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen
Criston Cole named young Rhaenyra the queen of love and beauty at a grand tourney. Soon after he became her personal sworn shield as a member of the Kingsguard. She had asked her father to give him the position. But Viserys was clearly impressed with Ser Criston, too. The King eventually promoted Cole to Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.
The story of the princess and her valiant knight did not end as as a fairy tale, though. A sordid and controversial story began to spread that Rhaenyra lost her virginity to her uncle at age 16. No one knows if that is true. But Targaryens had long married within the family to keep their bloodlines pure. And King Viserys did exile his brother shortly after.
Meanwhile, the histories tell another story about Rhaenyra and the other man who loved her. One tale tells that the day came when Cole professed his love to Rhaenyra and asked her to run away with him to Essos. But instead she questioned his loyalties since he wanted to break his sworn Kingsguard vow. But another version of the story says that it was she who professed her love to him, only for him to turn her down. Whatever really happened between the princess and her sworn shield we will never know. But whatever it was he suddenly became a bitter enemy of hers. Ser Criston Cole then became supporter of Queen Alicent and the Greens.
The Controversial Marriages of Rhaenyra Targaryen
Eventually Rhaenyra accepted/was forced into a politically motivated marriage with Ser Laenor Velaryon. Her father arranged the union and threatened to name his son Aegon heir instead when she protested the arrangement. Her desire to be queen was greater than her distaste at having Laenor as husband. But her qualms were not without merit. The Princess said Laenor would be more interested in the beds of her half-brothers. The couple did officially have three sons together, but the overwhelming evidence indicated Laenor was not their father. The inescapable and obvious question of paternity would became a major moment on the path to civil war. Rumors of the boy’s true father would also lead to bitter disputes with their cousins that led to violence over the years.
A few years later Ser Laenor died during a fight with a dear friend. Some believe it was a lovers quarrel born of jealousy. But others whispered that Daemon arranged to have Laenor murdered. That was never proven. What happened next, though, did nothing to quell the murmur of conspiracy. Rhaenyra quickly remarried, this time to her uncle Daemon. Their controversial union angered her father. Still, the king did not announce a different heir. And that’s where things stood when Viserys died in 129 AC and all dragon hell broke loose.
The Death of King Viserys Leads to All-Out War
Rhaenyra was in Dragonstone away from court when he fathered died. Meanwhile, Queen Alicent was in King’s Landingm, and after she learned of her husband’s death, she kept it hidden for a week. In the meantime she called together the small council to determine succession. The council was almost entirely made up of Greens, save for Lord Lyman Beesbury. He argued Rhaenyra was the rightful heir. For that the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Criston Cole, slit his throat, ending the debate. It’s why Cole is forever known as the Kingmaker.
Aegon II reluctantly accepted the title of King only after he was convinced his half-sister would execute him when she became Queen. When Rhaenyra was predictably furious when she finally heard everything that had happened. In response she had herself crowned on Dragonstone.
The Realm Chooses Sides in the Dance of the Dragons
Despite swearing a vow to King Viserys, many lords of the realm took up Aegon’s claim, for a myriad of reasons. Chief among them was that Rhaenyra was a woman. Some also believed her children, next in line to the Iron Throne, were bastards. And some thought crowning her would ultimately make her despised uncle-husband King. However, she had many supporters who planned to keep their vow to her. Plus she had one major advantage over her brother – Rhaenyra’s side had more dragons than Aegon and the Greens.
Any small hope for a peaceful resolution went out the window quickly. The two sides quickly went to work rallying support which led to a deathly encounter. King Aegon’s brother Aemond, riding on his giant dragon Vhagar, killed Rhaenyra’s son Luce a top his much smaller dragon Arrax. When Luce died over Shipbreaker’s Bay off of Storm’s End peace was no longer an option.
To tell the tale of the entire Dance of the Dragons would take five more parts. (NOTE: There’s a reason HBO chose this as its first Game of Thrones spinoff. It features some epic fights, horrible tragedies, and shocking moments we haven’t even touched on). But Westeros will never forget when the skies filled with the flames and shadows of dragons battling one another. And the Realm will never forget how it ended.
Fire & Blood Comes to House Targaryen
King Aegon II was badly injured early in the War. Him and his dragon spent most of the Dance missing out of sight. Some even thought Aegon was dead for most of it. However, in the end he emerged victorious. But only for a very brief time.
Rhaenyra could, and probably even should, have won. She had enough support of the realm along with her superior number of dragons. But she lost too many of each because of her own anger, paranoia, and mistakes. (She even lost the bastard Targaryens who became dragonriders during the way. They betrayed her like so many others.). Despite all of that, though, she did sit upon the Iron Throne for a fleeting moment.
Rhaenyra Targaryen Takes the Iron Throne, But Only For a Moment
While the Green forces were away from King’s Landing they foolishly left the capital sparsely protected. That allowed Rhaenyra and Daemon to easily take the city, where she sat on the Iron Throne for half-a-year. An infamous story says when she first got up from the chair she was bleeding from so many cuts. To some it meant the throne had rejected her for not being worthy. (Though in fairness, how many people could avoid being cut by a chair of swords the first time they tried to get comfortable in it?)
Her brief rule, which her brother Aegon later declared unofficial, initially caused a celebration in the city. But the Queen soon grew unpopular. She raised taxes, began executing green loyalists, and earned the crude moniker of “King Maegor with Teats.” That was a hard reference to the brutal and hated third Targaryen king.
Her time on the Iron Throne enraged citizens so much they came to think of dragons as evil. So one legendary night they stormed the Dragonpit in a frenzy and killed the four dragons inside. (Many died during the attack) They also killed Rhaenyra’s own dragon Syrax shortly thereafter. Having already lost her first three sons to the war, Rhaenyra fled back to Dragonstone for safety. But there she was betrayed and brought before her injured and delirious brother King Aegon II.
Aegon had his dragon Sunfyre burn Rhaenyra alive before he ate her. (Sunfyre was one of only two dragons left from many who fought in the war). He also made Rhaenyra’s young son, also named Aegon, watched his mother die. The King refused calls to execute his nephew, though. Instead he kept him prisoner as his enemies continued the war in the name of Rhaenyra’s son and own heir. And the younger Aegon would ultimately achieve what his mother couldn’t.
King Aegon Is Dead, Long Live King Aegon
Someone close to King Aegon II—who proved himself as unworthy of the Iron Throne as many had feared—murdered the unpopular monarch not long after Rhaenyra’s death. And his demise raised the same issue that started the Dance of the Dragons decades earlier. Aegon II died without an obvious heir.
In a poetic end to the deadly war, Rhaenyra’s son with Daemon became King Aegon III. He was also wed to his cousin, Aegon II’s daughter Jaehaera. Their marriage reunited both sides of House Targaryen. But the new King was a sad man who never recovered from seeing his mother’s horrible death. He was known by many names, such as Aegon the Unlucky, Aegon the Unhappy, and the Broken King.
But his lasting moniker is Aegon the Dragonsbane. Because during his rule the last dragons died (until Daenerys almost 150 years later). Some suspected him of conspiring to eliminate the creatures due to his personal hatred. But other theories say the maesters of the Citadel, who hated magic and the death cause dby dragons, secretly plotted to kill them off.
When Aegon III died his brother, Viserys—once thought lost forever—ended up sitting on the Iron Throne himself. For everything denied her, Rhaenyra ended up being the mother of two kings.
The Dance of the Dragons Legacy
The Dance of the Dragons was the swan song of the dragons. And House Targaryen was never as powerful without them as they were before.
As for Rhaenyra, she grew up believing she would rule Westeros. But when the time came her enemies and family stole the crown from her. She answered with fire and blood and was destroyed by them. So while she may have been the first woman to claim the Iron Throne, she never ruled the Seven Kingdoms. The Half-Year Queen’s tale is the ultimate reminder that all rulers—whether Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, or Cersei Lannister—need more than her many dragons to rule. They need the support of the people. And the people never truly wanted a woman to rule.
What none of those who opposed Rhaenyra, including us until House of the Dragon, though, was that Rhaenyra was fighting for something bigger than herself. She knew about Aegon’s dream of Ice and Fire. Her father gave the responsibility of the world to her. For that she’s a far more sympathetic figure than the histories have ever told of the woman who lost the Dance of the Dragons. But it also means her many mistakes are more unforgivable, too.
Originally published July 1, 2017.
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.
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