At last, House of the Dragon is finally here—and the Targaryen family tree is just as confusing as ever.
Brimming with incestuous relations and tangled intermarriages, HBO's prequel series to Game of Thrones (based off of George R.R. Martin's wildly popular books) gives fans a closer look at the twisted familial dynamics at the core of Westeros's most powerful (and blonde) family.
Since House of the Dragon will showcase the volatile events that lead up to the Targaryen civil war, known as the Dance of the Dragons, a refresh on who's who in the line of succession may be due.
Below, we illustrate the complicated web of Targaryens through the generations. Scroll ahead to get a more expansive breakdown of the royal history, starting with King Jaehaerys and all the way down to Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow. (Beware, spoilers are ahead.)
King Jaehaeyrs I
King Jaehaeyrs I, also known as the Old King, was the fourth Targaryen to ascend the Iron Throne, following King Aegon I, King Aenys I, and King Maegor I.
Jaehaeyrs married his younger sister, Queen Alysanne, who became known as Good Queen Alysanne. Together, they had 13 children in total.
Jaehaeyrs's reign lasted 55 years, marking the longest ever reign for a monarch of the Seven Kingdoms. He ended up outliving both his wife and heirs, thus setting up a contested line of succession.
Princess Rhaenys Targaryen
Rhaenys, or the Queen Who Never Was, was the only child of Aemon, King Jaehaeyrs's heir. She seemed to be the natural successor to the Iron Throne following the passing of Jaehaeyrs's sons, but the Great Council voted to instead pass the throne to her male cousin, Viserys.
Rhaenys married Lord Corlys Velaryon. They had two children: Laena and Laenor Velaryon.
King Viserys I
Viserys succeeded his grandfather, King Jaehaerys I, on the Iron Throne. He married his cousin, Queen Aemma, and they had one daughter, Princess Rhaenyra.
When Aemma dies after Viserys orders that she undergo a C-section against her will, the line of succession is thrown into chaos. With no son to pass the crown to, Viserys removes his younger brother, Daemon, as his heir and instead names Rhaenyra as his successor.
Viserys later remarries Alicent Hightower, who gives birth to his first-born son, Aegon II.
Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen
Princess Rhaenyra is the eldest child of King Viserys. After the death of her mother, Viserys named Rhaenyra as his heir, but the birth of his first-born son just a few years later leads to some disputing her right to the crown.
Eventually, the Targaryen civil war culminates with Rhaenyra battling for the Iron Throne against her younger brother.
Rhaenyra first married Laenor Velaryon and they had three children: Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey. Later, she married her uncle, Prince Daemon, and they had three more kids: Viserys II, Visenya, and Aegon III.
Prince Daemon Targaryen
As the younger brother of King Viserys, Daemon was the presumed heir to the throne until Viserys revoked his heirhood and named Rhaenyra his successor.
Daemon ended up marrying three times. His first marriage was to Lady Rhea Royce, followed by Laena Velaryon, with whom he has two children, Rhaena and Baela. He later married his niece, Princess Rhaenyra, and they had three additional children together.
Aegon II Targaryen
Aegon was the first-born son of King Viserys and his wife, Alicent Hightower. His presumed ascent to the Iron Throne is challenged by his older sister, Princess Rhaenyra, who was previously designated as Viserys's heir.
How are the House of the Dragon characters related to Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow?
The beginning of House of the Dragon takes place 172 years before Princess Daenerys Targaryen's birth. Memorably, Daenerys had a short-lived but fiery romance with Jon Snow, who, as the Season 7 finale of Game of Thrones revealed, turned out to be the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen, a.k.a. Daenerys's older brother, making them the latest aunt-nephew couple to join their ancestry's long tradition of incestuous relationships.
But, how are they both connected to their House of the Dragon predecessors?
Technically, Rhaenyra is Daenerys's sixth great grandmother and Jon's seventh great grandmother. That also makes Daenerys and Jon the direct descendants of Daemon, Rhaenyra's uncle/second husband.
As an associate editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com, Chelsey keeps a finger on the pulse on all things celeb news. She also writes on social movements, connecting with activists leading the fight on workers' rights, climate justice, and more. Offline, she’s probably spending too much time on TikTok, rewatching Emma (the 2020 version, of course), or buying yet another corset.
