An essential guide to all the Targaryen kids on 'House of the Dragon' and how they're related
"House of the Dragon" follows House Targaryen during a bloody civil war. Here's a photo guide to all the Targaryen kids and how they're related.
Ollie Upton/HBO
- "House of the Dragon" is a "Game of Thrones" prequel that follows a Targaryen civil war.
- Some of the Targaryen kids grew from toddlers to young adults in season one.
- Here's a complete visual guide to the confusing Targaryen family tree.
Warning: Spoilers ahead for "House of the Dragon" season three, episode three.
"House of the Dragon" is back for its third and penultimate season, bringing its wildly expansive Targaryen brood back to our screens.
HBO's "Game of Thrones" prequel show follows a bloody war of succession, known in Westerosi history as the Dance of the Dragons.
Thanks to the warring factions being related — not to mention the dragonlords' affinity for incest — the Targaryen family tree is tangled and complex.
By season two, all characters were coalescing around two potential rulers: Aegon II, King Viserys' eldest son, and Queen Rhaenyra, his eldest child and chosen heir.
By the time Viserys died and left the Iron Throne unclaimed, both Aegon II and Rhaenyra had several children of their own. Furthermore, some of the lesser-known Targaryen children are finally coming of age, adding more key players to the ongoing war.
We've put together a visual guide to all of the children in the Targaryen family, so you can keep all of those silver-haired (and sometimes brunette) kids straight.
Kim Renfro, Ayomikun Adekaiyero, and Palmer Haasch contributed to a previous version of this story.
Let's start with Rhaenyra's eldest son, Jacaerys "Jace" Velaryon.Theo Whitman/Gary Moyes/HBO
Jace was born in season one, sometime in the 10-year gap between episodes five and six.
Officially, Jace's father was Laenor Velaryon, Rhaenyra's first husband. However, many people (correctly) suspect that Jace was the bastard son of the late Harwin Strong.
Jace was Rhaenyra's heir until he and his dragon, Vermax, died in the Battle of the Gullet during the season three premiere.
Lucerys "Luke" Velaryon was Rhaenyra's secondborn son and heir to Driftmark.Gary Moyes/Ollie Upton/HBO
Luke was Rhaenyra's second child with Harwin, though he was publicly claimed as Laenor's son and the heir to Driftmark, the seat of House Velaryon.
Luke was the kid who cut Aemond's eye (we'll get to Aemond and his siblings soon) in season one, episode seven, "Driftmark."
Years later, in the season one finale, the nephew and uncle clashed again while riding their dragons, Vhagar and Arrax. This time around, their confrontation led to Luke and Arrax's accidental deaths.
Joffrey Velaryon is the youngest son from Rhaenyra's first marriage (and affair).HBO
Rhaenyra gave birth to her third son in season one, episode six, "The Princess and the Queen." The baby was named after the man Laenor once loved, Ser Joffrey Lonmouth, who was killed by Ser Criston Cole.
In season two, Joffrey was sent as a ward to the Vale, the mountainous region ruled by his mother's cousin, Lady Jeyne Arryn. He was accompanied by his two younger half-brothers and his step-sister, Rhaena.
Joffrey is bonded to the young dragon Tyraxes.
Now on to Alicent's children, all fathered by King Viserys. Their eldest child is Aegon II Targaryen.Gary Moyes/Ollie Upton/Theo Whiteman/HBO
King Viserys' first son, Baelon, died shortly after he was born in season one. The king's wife, Aemma, also died in childbirth.
Viserys later married Alicent Hightower. Their first child together, Aegon II (also called Aegon the Elder in George R.R. Martin's book "Fire & Blood"), was named after the original Targaryen king, Aegon the Conqueror.
Despite the celebrated birth of his trueborn son, Viserys upheld Rhaenyra as his chosen heir, breaking with the realm's patriarchal tradition.
However, after Viserys died in season one, episode eight, "The Lord of the Tides," the Hightower-led council usurped Rhaenyra and crowned Aegon II instead.
In season two, the young king rode his dragon Sunfyre into battle at Rook's Rest, where he was attacked and burned. Aegon II was left disabled and nearly unrecognizable, with burn scars covering half his face and body. In the season two finale, he fled King's Landing with his master of whisperers, Larys Strong.
Helaena Targaryen is Alicent's secondborn child and only daughter.Ollie Upton/HBO
Helaena was the first daughter born to Alicent.
In between episodes, Helaena was married off to her older brother. She became the queen consort when Aegon II was crowned king at the end of season one.
Helaena is bonded to the ancient dragon Dreamfyre, though in the show, it's said she has no taste for dragonriding. Helaena is also a known dragon dreamer, meaning she has magical prophetic visions.
Aegon II and Helaena had two children of their own: twins named Jaehaerys and Jaehaera.HBO
Jaehaerys and Jaehaera, a boy and a girl, are so far the only kids born to Aegon II and Helaena that we've seen onscreen.
In season one, episode nine, "The Green Council," we caught a glimpse of the silver-haired twins playing in Helaena's room.
The twins came back into play in the season two premiere, when Daemon hired a pair of assassins known as Blood and Cheese to kill Aemond as revenge for Luke.
When the assassins were unable to find Aemond, they decided to kill Jaehaerys instead — a son for a son — a move made even crueler by asking Helaena to point out which twin was the boy. While Blood and Cheese decapitated Jaehaerys in his crib, Helaena ran to safety with Jaehaera.
Once Rhaenyra took the Iron Throne in season three, Alicent, Helaena, and Jaehaera were trapped as prisoners in the Red Keep.
Alicent's middle son is Aemond Targaryen, also known as Aemond One-Eye.Ollie Upton/Theo Whiteman/HBO
Known in "Fire & Blood" as Aemond One-Eye, Alicent's secondborn son was the last of his siblings to claim a dragon.
Although claiming the ancient dragon Vhagar led to a fight that cost Aemond his eye, the risk ultimately paid off: Vhagar is the biggest and fiercest dragon in Westeros, and as Aemond grew up, the duo became the greatest power in the realm.
In season two, Aemond used Vhagar to burn his older brother in the battle at Rook's Rest. While Aegon II was bedridden, Aemond ruled in his stead as Prince Regent and Protector of the Realm.
Viserys and Alicent's youngest son, Daeron Targaryen, makes his debut in season three.HBO
In the book, Alicent gave birth to her youngest child, Daeron, around the same time that Rhaenyra gave birth to Jace.
In the show, Daeron is slightly younger — about 16 when he enters the fray.
Daeron was absent throughout seasons one and two of "House of the Dragon." He grew up in Oldtown with House Hightower, rather than in King's Landing with his three older siblings. In the season three premiere, Daeron subtly made his debut as the squire for his mother's cousin, Lord Ormund Hightower.
After Aegon II abdicated and Rhaenyra took the Iron Throne, Ormund was forced to surrender Daeron as a hostage.
However, Ormund tricked the royal family by bleaching a low-born boy's hair and ordering him to masquerade as Daeron — even to die in Daeron's place, if Rhaenyra commanded it. (Luckily, the impostor was safely imprisoned before Rhaenyra discovered the truth.)
Meanwhile, the real Daeron remained with the Hightower army, along with his young dragon Tessarion.
Now on to Daemon's children. Baela Targaryen is the first of his two daughters from his second marriage.Ollie Upton/HBO
Baela was born to Viserys' younger brother, Prince Daemon Targaryen, and Daemon's second wife, Laena Velaryon, while the couple was living in Essos. (Daemon and his first wife, Lady Rhea Royce, didn't have any children.)
Daemon returned to Westeros with his daughters after Laena died in childbirth.
Following the time jump in season one, it's revealed that Baela was sent to live at Driftmark as a ward, learning the ways of the court from her grandmother, Rhaenys Targaryen.
Baela was betrothed to Jace, her cousin-slash-step-brother, before his death. She is bonded to the dragon Moondancer and has proven useful to Rhaenyra as a scout.
Rhaena Targaryen is Daemon and Laena's younger daughter.Ollie Upton/Theo Whiteman/HBO
Rhaena was born to Daemon and Laena in Essos. After she returned with her father and sister to Westeros, she was betrothed to Luke as a means of nurturing the Targaryen-Velaryon alliance.
Unlike many of her family members, Rhaena did not bond with a dragon as a child. As a result, she frequently feels overlooked by her father, Daemon, and stepmother, Rhaenyra, in their war efforts.
In season two, Rhaena was tasked with escorting Rhaenyra's three youngest sons to the Vale and then escorting the two youngest back to Essos. Instead, Rhaena abandoned her post and ran away to claim Sheepstealer, a wild dragon.
After Laena's death, Daemon and Rhaenyra got married and had two sons together: Aegon III and Viserys II.HBO
Daemon and Rhaenyra also named their first son after Aegon the Conqueror, making him Aegon III Targaryen. In "Fire & Blood," he's often referred to as Aegon the Younger, to avoid being mixed up with his usurping uncle.
The couple named their second son after Rhaenyra's dad, King Viserys, who was also Daemon's brother. (Yikes!)
In season one, Daemon and Rhaenyra introduced both of their kids to Viserys shortly before the king's death, but Aegon III and Viserys II haven't had much screen time since.
In season two, Rhaenyra decided to send the toddlers to the Vale to protect them from the war. It was later arranged for Aegon III and Viserys II to be sheltered in Essos instead, and they hit the road in the season two finale.
Aegon the Younger is bonded to the baby dragon Stormcloud, while Viserys II has an unhatched dragon egg.
Daemon and Rhaenyra were expecting a third child, but Rhaenyra experienced a stillbirth in the season one finale.Ollie Upton/HBO
Rhaenyra was pregnant with her and Daemon's third child together at the start of the season one finale. Upon hearing of her father's death and Aegon II's hasty coronation, she went into early labor. Their daughter, Visenya, was delivered stillborn.
In "Fire & Blood," Aegon II and Helaena have a third child.Theo Whitman/HBO
Aegon II and Helaena have a third child in the book; after the twins, Helaena gives birth to another son named Maelor.
After Jaehaerys is murdered by Blood and Cheese, Maelor becomes Aegon II's heir.
During season two, Martin had some harsh words for "House of the Dragon" writers about Maelor's exclusion from the show. He said the change would cause a butterfly effect and weaken the overall narrative.
In season three, Helaena is healthy and relatively safe in King's Landing, so it's still possible she could give birth again — but since Aegon II is an impotent fugitive now, Maelor would've needed to be conceived before the battle at Rook's Rest.
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