'Game of Thrones' prequel 'House of the Dragon': How does Rhaenyra Targaryen die in the book 'Fire & Blood'?
The silver-haired Targaryen princesses have always captured their audience's hearts. First, it was Daenerys in 'Game of Thrones,' and now audiences get to witness Rhaenyra and her other ancestors in 'House of the Dragon'. As mentioned earlier, there are many uncanny similarities between the two princesses but let's hope Rhaenyra's fate will be kinder than Daenerys'.
'House of the Dragon' story revolves around the Targaryen civil war that took place about 200 years before the events in 'Game of Thrones.' The fantasy-adventure HBO series is produced by Ryan Condal, George RR Martin, Miguel Sapochnik, Vince Gerardis, Sara Lee Hess and Ron Schmidt while the thumping score is composed by Ramin Djawadi.
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Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, called the Realm's Delight when she was young and later the Half-Year Queen, was King Viserys I Targaryen's first born child. She was the king's only living child by his first wife, Queen Aemma of House Arryn. when she was eight, her father declared her the heir to the throne and she grew up expecting to become the first ruling Queen of Westeros. Rhaenyra's mount was called Syrax.
Her claim to the Iron Throne was challenged by her younger half-brother, Aegon II Targaryen, sparking the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons. She was the mother of two kings, Aegon III and Viserys II.
According to George RR Martin's book, 'Fire & Blood,' Rhaenyra had inherited her family's Valyrian look. She often wore her silver hair in a in a long braid just like Queen Visenya Targaryen. Known for her beauty throughout the realm, her uncle, Prince Daemon Targaryen, deemed her to be the most beautiful maiden in all the Seven Kingdoms.
Known for being proud and stubborn, there was a certain petulance to her small mouth, though she could be charming. She had a quick temper and never forgot a slight. She resented her slender older stepmother, Queen Alicent Hightower, but was fond of Lady Laena Velaryon. Rhaenyra's favored colors were purple and maroon velvets and golden Myrish lace in intricate patterns. Her bodice was known to glitter with pearls and diamonds, and she wore rings on her fingers. She would turn these rings around her fingers when she was anxious.
So, what causes the Targaryen Princess's demise?
The glorious princess met a painful and tragic death, according to the books. When Helaena Targaryen, much beloved of the small folk, ended her life, furious people stirred up a riot in King's Landing. There were rumors that said she was killed on Rhaenyra's orders. This showed how much the city had turned against Rhaenyra as people easily believed these rumors. The riots soon culminated with the storming of the Dragonpit, and the death of her son Joffrey Velaryon.
After this, Rhaenyra fled King's Landing. After the death of all her children, she refused to let Aegon out of her sight. Intimidated and despairing, she grew grey and haggard as she traveled past Rosby, Stokeworth, and Duskendale. Rhaenyra was forced to sell her crown for money to buy passage on a Braavosi merchant ship, the Violande. Once she reached Dragonstone, Rhaenyra was betrayed by Ser Alfred Broome, whose men slew the remainder of her Queensguard. Aegon II then killed her and fed her to his own dragon, Sunfyre, at Dragonstone and that is how the reign of the first queen of the Targaryen clan ended after one-and-a-half years of her ruling. Aegon II legislated that Rhaenyra was never a queen and that she be referred to only as a princess in all chronicles and court records to remove her from the history of rulers from the Targaryen clan.