Rhaenyra Targaryen: How The House Of The Dragon Character Is Related To Daenerys
WARNING! This article contains major spoilers for George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, the book on which House of the Dragon is based!
Though they are many decades separated, Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon and Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones are closely related. The events of Game of Thrones begin almost 300 years after Aegon the Conquerer arrived in what would eventually be King’s Landing.
House of the Dragon takes place only 100 years after Aegon’s invasion; it’s a time when the Targaryen bloodline is at its strongest and most prolific. In Game of Thrones, the royal family is all but a forgotten legend but in House of the Dragon, the Targaryens have a firm grip on Westeros with the only threats possible coming from the inside.
The Targaryen family tree has always been an incestuous and closely knit web of brothers marrying sisters and nieces marrying uncles, a safeguard against other families gaining access to dragons. As such, anyone with the Targaryen last name is inherently more closely related to their ancestors than other members of great houses. Rhaenyra and Daenerys’ relationship is even closer, considering their similar roles in their families and in Westeros. Both women are powerful leaders whose role as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms is questioned and their pursuits of the crown are equally tragic. As such, Daenerys and Rhaenyra Targaryen are related by both their stories and by blood.
Rhaenyra Targaryen Is Daenerys’ Sixth Great-Grandmother (& Jon Snow’s Seventh)
Rhaenyra and Daenerys are directly separated by eight Targaryen generations
Though Rhaenyra Targaryen herself is doomed, it’s her bloodline that continues the Targaryen royal line of kings and queens and makes her victorious in the Dance of the Dragons over her half-brother Aegon II. Rhaenyra is Daenerys’ sixth great-grandmother and consequently Jon Snow’s seventh. The connection between Daenerys and Rhaenyra passes through all the major players in the history of Westeros. Aegon the Unworthy, who began a second Targaryen civil war after the Dance of the Dragons, Aegon “Egg” V from the Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas, and the Mad King Aerys II are all famous and notorious shared relatives between the two queens.
| Generation | Direct Lineage From Rhaenyra To Daenerys | Relations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhaenyra Targaryen | Daenerys’ sixth-great grandmother |
| 2 | Viserys II Targaryen | Rhaenyra’s youngest and last surviving son |
| 3 | Aegon VI Targaryen | Viserys II’s son |
| 4 | Daeron II Targaryen | Aegon VI’s son |
| 5 | Maekar I Targaryen | Daeron II’s son |
| 6 | Aegon V Targaryen | Maekar’s son |
| 7 | Jaehaerys II Targaryen | Aegon V’s son |
| 8 | Aerys II Targaryen | Jaehaerys II’s son |
| 9 | Daenerys Targaryen | Aerys II’s daughter |
Between Rhaenyra Targaryen and Daenerys, the purity of the Targaryen bloodline became much more mixed than it had in the first 100 years of the dynasty’s time in Westeros. Rhaenyra’s ancestors consist almost entirely of Targaryens and their close relative families, the Velaryons and Baratheons. By Daenerys’ time, Blackwoods, Martells, and Daynes have all entered the familial line, indicating Daenerys is not a copy of her fiery ancestor.
Rhaenyra Targaryen Died By Getting Eaten By A Dragon
Rhaenyra has a more fiery ending than Daenerys
Towards the end of the civil war, Rhaenyra Targaryen and her son Aegon III fled to Dragonstone to avoid the fall of King’s Landing, but they were betrayed. Aegon II captured his half-sister and fed her alive to his dragon Sunfyre, a move that would put Aegon II on the throne briefly before his final overthrow. This continues a long tradition of Targaryens using their dragons to execute prisoners and cement their authority. Aegon the Conqueror uses Balerion to incinerate Harren the Black and his family, Vhagar kills Lucerys Velaryon, and Daenerys uses Drogon to execute multiple enemies in her fight for the Iron Throne.
Unlike Aegon III, who becomes brooding and melancholy for the rest of his reign, Daenerys’ shock at watching Missandei die results in her slipping further into the fiery madness that affects many in the Targaryen dynasty.
An additional brutal aspect of Rhaenyra Targaryen’s death is that Aegon III, a child, is forced to watch. This mirrors Missandei’s death hundreds of years later when Daenerys is helplessly forced to watch her closest friend’s execution at the hands of sworn enemy Cersei Lannister. Unlike Aegon III, who becomes brooding and melancholy for the rest of his reign, Daenerys’ shock at watching Missandei die results in her slipping further into the fiery madness that affects many in the Targaryen dynasty. Thus, Daenerys and Rhaenyra Targaryen share many similarities that are in part a result of their shared lineage.
How Rhaenyra Targaryen Compares To Daenerys
The two Targaryen queens share some important similarities & differences
The primary Targaryen queens of their respective shows, Game of Thrones‘ Daenerys and House of the Dragon‘s Rhaenrya have some significant parallels in their stories. Both Targaryens obtained their claims to the Iron Throne rather unexpectedly, with Dany being the (supposedly) last surviving Targaryen after her brother and father’s deaths, while Rhaenyra was named heir when Viserys and Aemma had yet another infant child die. They’re the only two Targaryen queens in history, having also both fought in two of the most important wars in Westerosi history.
Rhaenyra Targaryen vows to “create a new order” as Queen in House of the Dragon, and this mirrors Daernerys’ GoT failure to “break the wheel.”
Personality wise, both are quite headstrong and embrace the dragonfire that burns within them in their leadership, though still notably have compassion and consideration for the masses. Daenerys and Rhaenyra also similarly prioritize their children and loved ones over all else – Rhaenyra with her five sons and close allies, and Dany with her three dragons and confidantes like Missandei. Additionally, the lead-up to their demise is influenced by a male family member who has a “stronger” claim to the Iron Throne, as Rhaenyra’s throne is stolen by her brother Aegon II, while Daenerys’ claim is theatened by Jon Snow being revealed as Aegon VI Targaryen.
Of course, Daenerys and Rhaenyra Targaryen are also quite different. Rhaenyra grew up in King’s Landing with the support, power, and privilege of the Targaryen Dynasty around its height, with a father who eventually guided her in ruling the realm. Meanwhile, Daenerys was raised alone with her abusive brother, isolated in Essos, had little power, and spent years building up an army through the love of the masses in order to forcibly take the Iron Throne. Ultimately, while at times succumbing to the pressures of greed, power, and anger, the different backgrounds of House of the Dragon‘s Rhaenyra and Game of Thrones‘ Daenerys lead them both to uniquely see the world as it is while still forging a new order with dragons at their side.
