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| “ | I'LL KILL THEM! I'LL KILL THEM ALL! Traitors and villains! They dare strike at me! I am the king! I am the king! Traitors and villains! Fire from the sky. This is war! I declare war! I DECLARE WAR! | „ |
| ~ Aegon's wrathful breakdown after learning of the death of his son. |
| “ | I wish to spill blood, not ink. | „ |
| ~ Aegon to Otto Hightower. |
| “ | Rhaenyra: Dear brother. I had hoped you were dead. Aegon: After you. You are the elder. Rhaenyra: I am pleased to know that you remember that. It would seem we are your prisoners... but do not think that you will hold us long. My leal lords will find me. Aegon: If they search the seven hells, mayhaps. |
„ |
| ~ Aegon and Rhaenyra's final exchange before he sentences her to die by his dragon in front of her son. |
King Aegon II Targaryen, also known as Aegon the Elder and Aegon the Usurper, is a major character in the A Song of Ice and Fire franchise and the main antagonist of the television adaptation House of the Dragon.
He is the firstborn son of King Viserys I Targaryen and his second wife, Queen Alicent Hightower, and the younger half-brother and archenemy of Rhaenyra Targaryen. He is the older brother of Helaena, Aemond, and Daeron. He married his sister, and with her, he had three children: Jaehaera, Jaehaerys, and Maelor. He allegedly fathered several bastard children as well, including a boy and a girl. He is also the rider of the dragon, Sunfyre.
Since his birth, his mother and her political supporters, known as the Greens, have conspired for him to become King instead of Rhaenyra, the proclaimed heir. Even though he originally had no intention of claiming the throne and was willing to let Rhaenyra rule, he ultimately embraced his role as the monarch. Septon Eustace claims he was convinced by Ser Criston Cole, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, who warned Aegon that should Rhaenyra take the throne, Aegon and his children and brothers would be executed to secure her claim. He was crowned King Aegon II, arguably usurping Rhaenyra and beginning the Dance of the Dragons.
In House of the Dragon, he is portrayed by Tom Glynn-Carney as an adult and by Ty Tennant as a teenager.
Personality[]
Books[]
| “ | I shall not walk that road again. | „ |
| ~ Aegon rejecting milk of the poppy after his second injury. |
Aegon II strongly resembled his father Viserys in appearance, though not in personality. He had silver-gold hair and violet eyes. In his youth, he had a handsome face, but his expression was sullen. Aegon had a whispy mustache.
At the age of fifteen, Aegon was described as lazy and somewhat sulky. By the age of twenty-two, he was considered quick to anger and slow to forgive. He enjoyed ale and strongwine. His drinking became more frequent during the Dance of the Dragons to cope with setbacks and defeats, lessen his fear, and dull the pain from his injuries. Grand Maester Kaeth described him as grasping. Through his reign, Aegon never knew joy nor peace.
During the civil war known as Dance of the Dragons, Aegon was repeatedly and severely wounded, constantly suffering from great pain. He broke his ribs and hip and was burned on half of his body, most severely on his left arm. The excessive use of milk of the poppy caused his face to become puffy. After breaking both of his legs, he was initially unable to walk or stand and had to be carried by a litter. The right leg eventually recovered, but the left leg did not. Although Aegon was eventually able to walk with the help of a crutch. He refused to take dreamwine or milk of the poppy to ease his agonizing pain after his second injury.
According to Septon Eustace's claims, even at a young age, Aegon was known to pinch and fondle any serving girl who strayed within his reach. In adulthood, Aegon was known to be a lecherous man who fathered several bastards. Court fool Mushroom claimed that Aegon became impotent due to injuries sustained in previous battles and engaged in voyeurism, ordering his henchmen to engage in sexual activities with serving girls or court ladies. Later, Aegon allegedly would weep and summon Septon Eustace to give him absolution.
Despite his flaws, Aegon was occasionally capable of mercy and honor. He granted Trystane Truefyre's last request to be knighted before executing him. He also pardoned Gaemon Palehair on account of his youth, making the boy a ward of the crown.
Aegon II was relentless in his pursuit of the crown and his determination to keep it, no matter the cost—to his family, his health, or even himself. Even after his last military forces were annihilated at the Battle of the Kingsroad by the rebels, he refused to give up. His advisers urged him to surrender the throne to his nephew, Aegon the Younger, in hopes of mercy, but Aegon II refused them. Instead, he ordered his nephew's ear to be cut off and sent to the enemy. His steadfast obsession with holding onto power, despite losing everything, ultimately led to his death when his own advisers, unable to convince him to abdicate, turned against him.
As king, Aegon wielded the ancestral sword Blackfyre and wore the crown of Aegon I Targaryen. Although Aegon wore armor during his reign, he did not look like a warrior. During his reign, Aegon didn't use the standard red three-headed dragon sigil of House Targaryen. Instead, he made his sigil a golden three-headed dragon to honor his dragon, Sunfyre the Golden.
TV series[]
| “ | I'm as fearsome as any of them. | „ |
| ~ Aegon to his advisers. |
Aegon is a deeply flawed and complex character. At his core, he's a hedonist with a tendency for drinking, shirking responsibilities, and indulging in his bad habits. Despite his generally easygoing and playful nature, Aegon is prone to destructive behavior, driven by his desire to escape the pressures and expectations placed upon him. He is a drunkard, unfaithful, and perverted, engaging in reprehensible acts such as bullying his younger brother, raping a servant girl, and allegedly visiting child fighting pits.
However, Aegon also possesses some positive qualities. He shows genuine love and affection toward his children, his brother (until his betrayal), and his dragon, Sunfyre. Despite his many flaws, he attempts to be a benevolent ruler, particularly toward the smallfolk, showing a degree of compassion and empathy. Aegon was largely neglected by his family, especially by his mother and grandfather, who saw him primarily as a potential claimant and pawn to the Iron Throne rather than as a person of value in his own right.
Aegon wasn't afraid of war. His decision to lead his army from the front lines at Rook’s Rest shows a mix of bravery and recklessness.
Biography[]
Aegon II was born in 107 AC as the eldest child of Viserys I Targaryen and his second wife, Queen Alicent Hightower. Viserys had only one surviving child from his first marriage to Queen Aemma Arryn, Rhaenyra Targaryen. However, Viserys had become the heir to his grandfather Jaehaerys I due to a Great Council electing to pass over the female and female-line claimant, apparently showing that the Iron Throne could not pass to a woman.
Viserys' brother, Prince Daemon Targaryen, thus considered himself his brother's heir. Angry at his brother, Viserys declares his daughter his legal heir. However, even though he remarried Alicent Hightower, the daughter of his Hand, Ser Otto Hightower, and had sons, he did not change the succession, going against the laws of inheritance followed elsewhere in the realm (Dorne had not yet joined the realm). A feud soon developed between Queen Alicent's family and Rhaenyra and her supporters, as Alicent wanted her eldest son, Aegon, to inherit. As a result, the two rivaling factions therefore became known as the Blacks and the Greens, due to Rhaenyra wearing a black dress while Alicent wore a green dress during the fifth anniversary of the king and queen's marriage.
When Rhaenyra was to be married, Alicent tried to have Aegon marry his half-sister, but they were 10 years apart and had never gotten on, and Viserys knew that Queen Alicent wanted her son to be King. Rhaenyra married her second cousin, Ser Laenor Velaryon, the heir to Driftmark. From her marriage, she bore three sons: Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey. However, it was widely believed that they were instead fathered by Ser Harwin Strong, as despite having two Valyrian parents, they had brown hair and other features similar to Harwin, who was Rhaenyra's champion and also her secret lover. For Laenor, he was rumored to be more interested in men than women. Due to the enmity Rhaenyra and Queen Alicent have for each other, this was passed down to Aegon and his siblings, Aemond and Helaena, who grew to resent Rhaenyra's children for stealing their birthright. King Viserys had them attend the same events so that they could get along with each other, but their mutual dislike only increased.
In 120 AC, Aegon bonded with the dragon Sunfyre, who is said to be the most beautiful dragon to ever fly the skies of Westeros. In Driftmark, when a fight broke out between Prince Aemond Targaryen and their half-nephews, whom Aemond called them Strongs, he ended up losing his right eye at the hands of Prince Lucerys, fuelling the hatred between the Blacks and the Greens. When King Viserys pressured Aemond on where he heard the name "Strongs," the princeling was forced to admit that he heard it from Aegon, who only said, "Everyone knows. Just look at them." Sometime later, when Rhaenyra gave birth to another son from her marriage to Prince Daemon, this angered Queen Alicent when she learned that the baby is named Aegon, and she considered it a slight against her son. Because two Aegons now exist, the Aegon born from Queen Alicent was therefore referred to as Aegon the Elder, while the Aegon born from Princess Rhaenyra was referred to as Aegon the Younger.
In 122, Aegon the Elder married his sister Helaena, who was 2 years younger than him. Together, they bore twins, Jaehaerys and Jaehaera, and later another son, Maelor. Aegon also fathered bastards.
In 129, after King Viserys died in his sleep, Queen Alicent and her sworn shield/lord commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Criston Cole, hid the news of the king's death from the public and called the Small Council. At the small court, Alicent persuaded them to have Aegon the elder crowned King. Though most of the small council are supportive of this, Lord Lyman Beesbury, the Master of Coin, however, refused to take part, as he supports Rhaenyra's claim to the iron throne. Consequently, this ended up costing him his own life, though the true cause of his death is in dispute.
Criston Cole then went to find Aegon, who is nowhere to be found. According to the court fool Mushroom, Criston finds him in Flea Bottom, while Septon Eustace claims that the prince is found in a 'respectable situation' with the daughter of a trader. Eustace further claimed that Aegon, at first, rejected the crown, as, despite his hatred for Rhaenyra, he acknowledged that she was the rightful heir. However, he was convinced by Criston that Rhaenyra would repay this by having him and his family killed if she ascended the Iron Throne. As a result, Aegon was forced to relent.
His coronation took place at the Dragonpit, a stable for dragons, where he was crowned with the crown of Aegon I Targaryen by Criston Cole, which earned the latter the epithet Kingmaker. The newly-crowned King Aegon then took a golden three-headed Targaryen dragon as his personal sigil instead of the usual red, which was done in honor of his dragon Sunfyre. His sister-wife, Helaena, was then crowned Queen by Alicent, who crowned her daughter with her own crown. As Aegon II is now king, his eldest son, Prince Jaehaerys, therefore became his heir.
Although this wasn't the beginning of the war, when her half-sister Rhaenyra was crowned queen on Dragonstone, This led to the Dance of the Dragons, a civil war between the supporters of Rhaenyra and Aegon, the Blacks and the Greens. When Rhaenyra's second son, Lucerys Velaryon, was killed over Shipbreaker Bay by Aemond, violence began. Daemon sent agents known as Blood and Cheese into the Red Keep, who murdered Aegon's six-year-old heir, Jaehaerys, in front of his mother, Helaena, who began to sink into depression and madness. On the other hand, Aegon raged, drank, and raged. He thirsted for vengeance over the death of his son and wanted to launch an attack on Dragonstone, on dragonback, to seize or kill his half-sister and her "bastard sons" (the Greens believed Jaehaerys's murder to be Rhaenyra's doing or ordered by her), although the entire Green Council had to dissuade him from this idea. Criston proposed to repay "her own bloody coin" to Princess Rhaenyra by sending Arryk Cargyll to Dragonstone. The true intentions of his mission remain unknown, but Munkun asserts it was to kill Rhaenyra and quash her rebellion, while Mushroom insists the goal was Rhaenyra's sons and that Aegon wished to wash out the blood of his murdered son with that of his bastard nephews. In the end, this endeavor failed, and Arryk met his brother Erryk, both of them perishing in the encounter.
Aegon stripped his grandfather Otto of the Handship and gave it to Criston. His heir, Maelor, was sent from the city with a Kingsguard, with the intention that he would be kept safe in the Hightower. However, at Bitterbridge, he was torn apart by a mob.
At Rook's Rest, a trap was set, which caught Rhaenyra's former mother-in-law, Rhaenys Targaryen, wife of Lord Corlys Velaryon, one of Rhaenyra's main supporters. When she arrived on her dragon, she was attacked by Aegon and Aemond on their dragons. She met their attack, and with her dragon, she was killed. However, Aegon was injured in the fall and left bent and twisted, with burns and broken arms, sleeping nine hours out of ten as he took milk of the poppy. His brother Aemond became the regent. They led an attack on Harrenhal, which had been taken by Daemon, but found it deserted.
Due to Aemond taking much of the Green army from King's Landing, it was taken by Rhaenyra's dragons, with many of the Goldcloaks supporting them due to Daemon being their former commander. Aegon disappeared during the fall of King's Landing. Larys Strong, "the Clubfoot," Lord of Harrenhal and Master of Whisperers, helped him flee. They hid on Dragonstone, Larys correctly realizing Rhaenyra would not think to look for him on her fortress. Later, he was joined by Sunfyre, who had partially recovered from the injuries he took at Rook's Rest.
Rhaenyra's tyranny towards King's Landing won her enmity, and her treatment of the Velaryons caused her to lose support. Thanks to her wild accusations, Daemon and three of the Blacks' Dragonseeds deserted, with two even joining the Greens. When Helaena threw herself from Maegor's Holdfast and died on the spikes below, many believed Rhaenyra was responsible. A riot began in King's Landing, which blamed the dragons. The mob attacked the dragonpit, resulting in many deaths, but all four dragons in the pit were killed. Rhaenyra's dragon, Syrax, was also killed by the mob.
Meanwhile, Aemond and Daemon died with their dragons in a duel over the God's Eye. Aegon's youngest sibling, Prince Daeron, died at Tumbleton when Addam Velaryon attacked the Greens on dragonback.
Rhaenyra fled to Dragonstone with her oldest surviving son, Aegon, as all three of her 'Velaryon' sons had died in the Dance and her youngest by Daemon, Viserys, had disappeared. However, Aegon and Larys had gathered support on Dragonstone. The sullen and sour Ser Alfred Broome was angry that, though he was the most senior Knight on Dragonstone, the amiable Ser Robert Quince had been named Castellan instead of him, and joined them, slaying Robert personally with a spear. Aegon II descended on Dragonstone on Sunfyre; however, he was met by one of Daemon's daughters by his marriage to Laena Velaryon, Baela Targaryen, who was riding her dragon Moondancer. Though Moondancer was smaller, she was quicker, and Sunfyre was wounded from his battle at Rook's Rest. The dragons fought, and as they fell, Aegon jumped 20 feet above the ground, breaking both his legs. Baela was injured but was taken to a Maester.
Reclaiming the Iron Throne[]
| “ | The time for hiding is done. Let the ravens fly that the realm may know the pretender is dead, and their true king is coming home to reclaim his father's throne. | „ |
| ~ Aegon's orders after killing his half-sister. |
Aegon II watching as Sunfyre is about to burn Rhaenyra alive.
When Rhaenyra arrived on Dragonstone, she was met by an escort led by Alfred Broome, who took her to the castle before slaying her remaining guards. She and Aegon were then taken at spearpoint before King Aegon, who called out to Rhaenyra from a balcony. As his shattered legs left him unable to walk and even stand, he had to be carried around from his chair. Because of the shattered hip he had received from the Battle at Rook's Rest, Aegon II was left bent and twisted while his once-handsome face had become puffy as a result of his daily taking of Milk of the Poppy. In addition, burned scars covered half of his body.
Despite his changed appearance, Rhaenyra immediately recognized him and she voiced voiced her displeasure that he was still alive, to which he retorted that she would die first. However, Rhaenyra reminds him that while she and her son Aegon are both his prisoners he won't hold them for long as her leal lords will find her. But King Aegon mockingly tells her that they perhaps might find her in the seven hells.
After Rhaenyra and Aegon the Younger were forcibly separated, Aegon II proceeded to bring his half-sister before Sunfyre, who at first didn't take interest. However, when Alfred Broome pricked Rhaenyra's breast with his dagger, the smell of blood immediately roused Sunfyre. After sniffing at Rhaenyra he proceeding to burn her alive before tearing off her arm and shoulder but not before she screamed out one last curse upon her half-brother.
According to Septon Eustace, Sunfyre ate Rhaenyra in six bites, leaving her left leg "for the Stranger". As he is forced to watch his mother being burned and eaten by Sunfyre, Aegon the Younger was left in horror while Elinda Massey, one of Rhaenyra's ladies-in-waiting, supposedly gouged out her own eyes. Though the loss of Rhaenyra became a huge blow to the Blacks, they stubbornly refused to surrender and continued fighting in the name of Prince Aegon the Younger, Aegon the Elder kept his nephew as a hostage. He made sure the boy married his only surviving child, Jaehaera. Aegon agreed to marry Cassandra Baratheon, the eldest daughter of Lord Borros Baratheon.
However, "the Lads," young Riverlander nobles who supported the Blacks, moved along the Kingsroad, led by Lord Kermit Tully, Lord Benjicot Blackwood, and Benjicot's aunt Alysanne Blackwood, known as "Black Aly." During the Battle of the Kingsroad, the Baratheon forces under Borros Baratheon met them in battle but were defeated, and Borros was slain, leaving King's Landing with minor defences. Lord Cregan Stark of Winterfell led his army from the North to reinforce them while other armies were coming from the Vale, which was ruled by Rhaenyra's cousin, Lady Jeyne Arryn, "the Maiden of the Vale".
Death[]
When the Black forces were a day's march from King's Landing, Lord Corlys Velaryon advised Aegon II to join the Night's Watch, but the King ordered his nephew's ear to be cut off and sent to the Lads, saying if his bloodline died, so would Rhaenyra's. He then climbed into his litter and took wine. However, when the curtains were pulled back, he was found dead with blood on his lips. The culprit responsible for the crime is unknown. Because the king's sons, Princes Jaehaerys and Maelor, participated in the Dance of the Dragons, Prince Aegon the Younger succeeded his uncle as King Aegon III.
During the Hour of the Wolf, Lord Cregan Stark, after arriving in King's Landing, arrested 22 men who are suspected of killing King Aegon II, as Cregan saw the king's death as murder and high treason, even though he noted that King Aegon was both an oathbreaker, a kinslayer, and a usurper. While he ruled as Hand of the king, but only for a day, most of the accused took the Black. Ser Gyles Belgrave of the Kingsguard and Lord Larys Strong chose death, leading to the extinction of House Strong. Lord Corlys Velaryon, who was also arrested as he was falsely accused by Cregan Stark of killing King Aegon II, was released due to his granddaughters, Princesses Baela and Rhaena Targaryen.
Two years later, Queen Jaehaera Targaryen, like her mother, died by falling from Maegor's Holdfast onto the spikes. Though it was deemed a suicide, many suspected that Lord Unwin Peake was responsible, intending for Aegon to marry his daughter, though Aegon III eventually married Daenaera Velaryon instead. With Jaehaera's death, the line of Viserys I and Alicent Hightower ended (though Aemond had impregnated Alys Rivers, it is unknown what became of the child, and Aegon II likely left behind several bastards).
Legacy[]
While King Aegon II is considered to be a part of the Targaryen Dynasty, he is not well remembered in the history of Westeros, though it is equally the same case for Rhaenyra as well. Aegon is remembered as cruel, joyless, peaceless, and bitter.
Though Rhaenyra is officially termed a usurper and a traitor, despite all the recent Targaryens born after her, some believe Aegon II to have been the true usurper and blame him for the civil war. Overall, history is equally unkind to both King Aegon II and Rhaenyra. They are both blamed for having plunged the Seven Kingdoms into chaos with no gain but death and misery for both of them in the end. The Targaryen Dynasty never recovered from the Dance of the Dragons, with the last of the Targaryen dragons dying during the reign of the next king, Aegon III. In his tome Lives of Four Kings, Grand Maester Kaeth describes King Aegon II as "grasping" and compares him to some of the worst Targaryen kings: Aenys I and Maegor the Cruel.
The dispute between Aegon II and Rhaenyra was still controversial by the time of the main A Song of Ice and Fire series. Some, such as Stannis Baratheon, agree that Aegon was the rightful heir of King Viserys I as the eldest male son, no matter what kind of person he might have been. However, others, such as Princess Arianne Martell, whose homeland of Dorne always respected women's rights and inheritance, argued that Rhaenyra was her father's true heir.
House of the Dragon[]
Childhood[]
Born in 113 AC, Prince Aegon Targaryen was the first son of King Viserys I Targaryen, ruler of the Seven Kingdoms of the continent of Westeros, and his second wife, Alicent Hightower of House Hightower. Aegon had an elder half-sister, sixteen years his senior, named Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, who was sired by King Viserys from his previous marriage. House Targaryen claimed dominion over the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros thanks to their control of dragons, which only those who carried their blood could command. Despite the Seven Kingdoms preferring male-line primogeniture, Viserys refused to name Aegon his heir over Rhaenyra.
Prince Aegon in the arms of his father, King Viserys I, on his second nameday.
Many in the realm wished for Aegon to inherit the Iron Throne instead of his sister, including his maternal grandfather, the Hand of the King, Ser Otto Hightower. In 115 AC, Prince Aegon accompanied his parents to the Kingswood, just outside King's Landing (the capital of the Seven Kingdoms), where a grand hunt was being held to celebrate his second nameday. Some of the nobles voiced their support for Aegon taking the throne, despite the attendance of his sister Rhaenyra. Otto Hightower proposed to the King that he marry Aegon to Rhaenyra to unify House Targaryen and put an end to the succession debate, although Viserys laughed off the suggestion.
Over the next eleven years, Viserys and Alicent had three more children: a daughter named Helaena Targaryen and two sons named Aemond and Daeron Targaryen. Rhaenyra married Ser Laenor Velaryon, the eldest son of the noble House Velaryon, and the couple had two sons named Jacaerys Velaryon and Lucerys Velaryon. Aegon bonded with and became the rider of a beautiful dragon named Sunfyre, and he frequently played with his younger brother Aemond and his nephews. He also developed a hedonistic personality and shied away from all responsibility, due in part to the cold attitude his parents and other family members held towards him.
Training with His Family[]
By 126 AC, Prince Aegon was betrothed to his sister Helaena. In that year, Rhaenyra and Laenor Velaryon had a third son named Joffrey Velaryon. On the day of Joffrey's birth, Aegon accompanied Aemond and his nephews Jacaerys and Lucerys to the Dragonpit, where the Targaryen dragons were interred. He watched on as Jacaerys practiced commanding his young dragon, Vermax. As a cruel joke, Aegon and his nephews presented a dressed-up pig with wings to Aemond to make fun of the fact that he had never been able to obtain a dragon of his own. Aemond was so upset that he was nearly injured later that day trying to find a dragon to bond with.
After training in the Dragonpit, Aegon was masturbating in his room in the Red Keep when his mother Alicent came in and began scolding him for his foul treatment of Aemond. Alicent voiced her opinion that Aegon shouldn't gang up on Aemond with his nephews, as Jacaerys and Lucerys were the children of Aegon's competitor, Rhaenyra. Although Aegon did not want to be King, Alicent claimed that Rhaenyra may be willing to kill him and his younger brother to secure her place as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Aegon took Alicent's words to heart and began harboring a newfound dislike for his half-sister and her family.
Prince Aegon training under Ser Criston Cole, his mother's protector.
Later that day, the young princes all attended a combat training session under Ser Criston Cole, the personal protector of Queen Alicent. Also present was Ser Hawain Strong, whom Aegon and many others believed to be the true father of Rhaenyra's children. Aegon and Aemond duelled against Cole together, but were easily defeated. Aegon was then pitted against the younger Jacaerys by Cole, and he was able to defeat his disadvantaged opponent thanks to Cole's advice. Favoring Rhaenyra's children, Strong intervened by grabbing Aegon aside, infuriating him in the process. Strong then attacked Cole after the latter insinuated that Rhaenyra's children were his.
Funeral of Lady Laena[]
Not long after the birth of Joffrey, Rhaenyra, her family, and many of her supporters left King's Landing and took up residence in Dragonstone, the ancestral home of House Targaryen, amid the growing tensions between the different sides of the family. Shortly afterwards, Lady Laena Velaryon, the sister of Ser Laenor Velaryon and wife of Aegon's uncle Prince, Daemon Targaryen, passed away during childbirth. Aegon and Rhaenyra's sides of the family both travelled on dragonback to Driftmark, the ancestral home of House Velaryon, to attend her funeral. Aegon took little interest in the funeral, instead disgracing his side of the family by drinking excessively.
He spoke with Aemond about their sister Helaena, remarking how uninterested he was in marrying her, before wandering off to flirt with a serving girl. Later that night, Aegon was sleeping outside in a drunken stupor when his grandfather, Otto, came over to him and dragged him to bed. Everyone in the house was later awakened after Aemond had gotten into a fight with Lucerys, Jacaerys, and Lady Laena's twin daughters, Baela Targaryen and Rhaena Targaryen. The fight started when Aemond returned after bonding with Vhagar, the oldest and largest dragon in the world that had been sworn to Lady Laena.
During the scuffle, Aemond insulted the bastard nature of his nephews and had his eye sliced with a dagger by Lucerys. Queen Alicent was furious about the incident, demanding that one of Rhaenyra's children have their eye cut out in recompense. Viserys, however, was more keen to find out who had influenced Aemond into believing the Princes were bastards. Aemond blamed Aegon, much to the elder brother's bafflement. After hesitating for a moment, Aegon said that he hadn't required anyone to tell him that his nephews were bastards, as their looks made it obvious. The next day, Aegon left Driftmark on dragonback with the rest of his family.
Return of the Princess[]
Rhaenyra's husband, Laenor Velaryon, died shortly after the funeral, and she quickly remarried her uncle, Prince Daemon. Over the next six years, Aegon and Helaena wed and had three children: Prince Jaehaerys Targaryen, Princess Jaehaera Targaryen, and Prince Maelor Targaryen. He mostly ignored his wife, except for when he was drunk, instead opting to spend his time in the various whore houses and dens of depravity found throughout King's Landing. He bedded many women, some without consent, and was rumored to have sired several bastard children that he left to fend for themselves.
In 132 AC, Lord Corlys Velaryon, the head of House Velaryon, was grievously wounded in battle, and so his younger brother Ser Vaemond Velaryon decided to petition to have himself recognized as the heir to Driftmark over his bastard nephew Lucerys Velaryon. By that point, the health of King Viserys had greatly declined, and the governing of the Seven Kingdoms had been left to Otto Hightower in his stead. The night before Vaemond and Rhaenyra's family were scheduled to arrive in King's Landing to debate the succession of House Velaryon, a serving girl named Dyana was delivering the drunken Aegon his wine when he raped her.
The next morning, the hungover Aegon was rudely awakened by his mother, who had learned of his assault on Dyana. Alicent was angered by Aegon, whose continued lecherous behavior sullied the honor of Helaena and the rest of their family. She denounced him as her son, driving Aegon to state that he had never asked to be born into a family of such high expectations and that it was the lack of approval he received from her and his father that forged him into being who he was. Helaena then entered the room, inquiring where Dyana was. Alicent felt sorry for her daughter's mistreatment, and so hugged her tenderly in front of Aegon.
Later that day, Aegon attended the succession debate in the throne room with the rest of his family. Naturally, Otto showed bias against Lucerys's claim to the throne of Driftmark, and it seemed as though Vaemond would win the debate. However, King Viserys I himself entered the throne room and walked slowly and painfully to the Iron Throne. Viserys, who had come to support his daughter Rhaenyra, reiterated the fact that Lucerys was the heir to House Velaryon and that the succession would not be changed. Princess Rhaenys Targaryen also voiced her support for Lucerys, choosing to side with the Blacks in the process.
Rhaenys, who was the cousin of the King and the wife of Lord Corlys, also announced that Jacaerys and Lucerys were betrothed to Laena's daughters, Baela and Rhaena Targaryen, thus strengthening the alliance between the Blacks and House Velaryon further. Outraged that his family's lineage was being left in the hands of an illegitimate child, Vaemond decried Rhaenyra's children as bastards and called the Princess a whore. Viserys told Vaemond that he would cut out his tongue for his impudence, but before he could act on his threat, Prince Daemon sliced Vaemond's head off, shocking the gathered nobles, including Prince Aegon.
The Last Supper[]
Determined to settle the ever-growing rift between Rhaenyra and Alicent's sides of the families before he died, King Viserys decided to host a dinner between the two families the night of the death of Vaemond Velaryon. Aegon was seated next to his wife, Helaena, and his eldest nephew, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon. Hoping to stir Prince Jacaerys into acting out, Aegon sarcastically congratulated him on his betrothal and made jabs at his sexual inexperience. Sensing the tension between the Greens and the Blacks, Viserys made an impassioned speech, imploring the two families to reconcile their differences for his sake.
Princess Rhaenyra raised a cup to Queen Alicent, complimenting her dedication to the King. Alicent in turn raised a cup to the Princess, saying that she would make a fine Queen. Although Rhaenyra and Alicent were genuinely open to the idea of reconciliation, their children were less so. Aegon walked over to where Princess Baela was sitting to pour himself a wine. As he did, he whispered to her that he pitied her for having to marry Jacaerys and that if she ever wanted a more experienced partner, he would be happy to oblige. Rather than acting on the Prince's insult, Jacaerys stood up and toasted his uncles, much to Aegon's disappointment.
Helaena, who didn't share the same enmity for the Blacks that most of her family did, toasted Jacaerys and Baela's betrothal and assured them that marriage wasn't that bad, citing Aegon's mostly leaving her alone as an example. To Aegon's annoyance, Jacaerys invited Helaena to dance with him, to which she happily obliged. As Jacaerys and Helaena danced, King Viserys was taken back to his room due to fatigue. Aemond then stood up and toasted his three nephews, addressing them as "strong." The toast, a clear dig at the biological father of Rhaenyra's children, Ser Hawain Strong, angered Jacaerys to the point that he attacked Aemond.
Lucerys tried to stand up to support his brother, but Aegon came up behind him and slammed his head on the dinner table. Jacaerys's betrothed Baela Targaryen tried to attack Aegon in a rage, only to be held back by Rhaena. The adults (namely Rhaenyra, Alicent, and Daemon) broke up the fighting and ordered all of the children to go to bed. The Blacks subsequently returned to Dragonstone on dragonback. Rather than going to his bed chambers in the Red Keep, Aegon headed to his usual haunts in the pleasure districts in King's Landing, where he was kidnapped by an information broker known as the White Worm.
Resisting His Destiny[]
The White Worm suspected that King Viserys would die imminently, and so they kidnapped Aegon as a potential bargaining chip to use against the Greens. She had him stashed in a drunken stupor under an alter in the Grand Sept. Aegon was rudely awakened the following morning by Sers Erryk & Arryk Cargyll, twins of the Kingsguard, who had been given the Prince's location by the Worm and had been sent by Ser Otto Hightower to collect him. Although he resisted, Aegon was overpowered and taken out of the Grand Sept, where he and the twins were confronted by Ser Criston Cole and Prince Aemond.
Cole and Aemond had been sent by Alicent Hightower, whose plans for Aegon differed from Ser Otto's. A fight broke out between Ser Arryk and Ser Criston, which Aegon used as an opportunity to flee. Aemond quickly caught up to Aegon and restrained him. Aemond confirmed to Aegon that their father had passed overnight and that the other Greens intended to make him King behind Rhaenyra's back. Aegon tried to convince his brother to let him go so that he could flee Westeros on a ship. Although Prince Aemond was tempted, Ser Criston Cole intervened after defeating Ser Arryk and returned Aegon to the Red Keep.
Later, on the way to his coronation in the Dragonpit, Aegon spoke with his mother. Alicent told Aegon that King Viserys had named him the heir in his final breaths, although Aegon didn't believe her because he believed that his father hadn't loved him enough to make such a decision. Alicent implored Aegon to spare Rhaenyra after his coronation, as she knew that Ser Otto would advise Aegon to kill his sister at some point due to the threat that she posed to his claim to the Iron Throne.
After his coronation, Aegon adopts a green, three-headed dragon as his personal sigil. He and Alicent send Otto to Dragonstone to negotiate with Rhaenyra, but these attempts at peace and submission fail when Aemond accidentally kills Lucerys over Shipbreaker Bay.
Equipment[]
- Crown of the Conqueror: Aegon II was coronated using the Crown of the Conqueror, the crown that had been worn by the first Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, Aegon I Targaryen. It was made from Valyrian steel and had large square-cut rubies embedded in it. The crown was considered a symbol of the authority of House Targaryen, and the claim of legitimacy of anyone who bore it was enhanced.
- Blackfyre: The sword of Aegon the Conqueror is a Valyrian steel bastard sword and another symbol of Targaryen kingship. Aegon was given this sword at his coronation.
- Valyrian steel dagger: Passed down from Aenar in Old Valyria to Aegon's own father, Viserys, this storied dagger was given to Aegon by Alicent as proof that Viserys wanted Aegon to succeed him. Unbeknownst to Aegon, it is incised with the Conqueror's prophecy about the future threat from the North: the Song of Ice and Fire.
Notable Victims[]
- Lord Buckler - Ordered; beheaded by the King's Justice.
- Lord Caswell - Ordered; beheaded by the King's Justice.
- Lady Fell - Ordered; beheaded by the King's Justice.
- Lord Harte - Ordered; beheaded by the King's Justice.
- Lord Hayford - Ordered; beheaded by the King's Justice.
- Lord Merryweather - Ordered; beheaded by the King's Justice.
- Blood - Novels: ordered; tortured to death; TV series: head smashed with a mace by Aegon.
- Princess Rhaenys Targaryen - Assisted; burned alive by Vhagar and Sunfyre.
- Meleys - Ordered and assisted; crashed to the ground after being wounded by Vhagar and Sunfyre.
- Moondancer - Ordered; killed and eaten by Sunfyre.
- Grand Maester Gerardys - Ordered; tormented and disemboweled by knights.
- Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen - Ordered; burned alive by Sunfyre.
- Ser Trystane Truefyre - Ordered; beheaded by Ser Alfred Broome.
- Essie - Ordered; hanged after being tortured for questioning.
- Sylvenna Sand - Ordered; hanged.
- The Shepherd - Set on fire by Aegon.
TV Series Only[]
- Cheese - Ordered; hanged.
Quotes[]
A Song of Ice and Fire[]
| “ | Everyone knows. Just look at them. | „ |
| ~ Aegon to his father, about the three sons of Rhaenyra Targaryen and Laenor Velaryon, whom were widely believed to have been the bastards of Harwin Strong. |
| “ | Thrones are won with swords, not quills. Spill blood, not ink. | „ |
| ~ Aegon II to Otto Hightower. |
| “ | My half-sister and my uncle are guilty of high treason. I want them attainted, arrested, and dead. | „ |
| ~ Aegon II declaring his half-sister and uncle as traitors. |
| “ | I offered her an honorable peace, and the whore spat in my face. What happens now is on her own head. | „ |
| ~ Aegon was enraged after Rhaenyra refused his peace offers. |
| “ | Rhaenyra was never a queen. | „ |
| ~ Aegon's decree after executing Rhaenyra. |
| “ | Tell your bastard to fight bravely, my lord. If he fails me, if any of these Braavosi pass the Gullet, your precious Lady Baela shall lose some parts as well. | „ |
| ~ Aegon to Corlys Velaryon |
| “ | It is not for you to plead for support from your lords, like a beggar pleading for alms. You are the lawful king of Westeros, and those who deny it are traitors. It is past time they learned the price of treason. | „ |
| ~ Criston Cole to Aegon. |
| “ | Every visible symbol of legitimacy belonged to Aegon. He sat the Iron Throne. He lived in the Red Keep. He wore the Conqueror's crown, wielded the Conqueror's sword, and had been anointed by a septon of the Faith before the eyes of tens of thousands. Grand Maester Orwyle sat in his councils, and the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard had placed the crown upon his princely head. And he was male, which in the eyes of many made him the rightful king, his half-sister the usurper. | „ |
| ~ Writings of Archmaester Gyldayn about Aegon's position in the early Dance of the Dragons. |
| “ | Ser Gyles and the litter bearers had no notion aught was amiss until they reached the sept, and the curtains did not open. "We are here, Your Grace," the knight said. No answer came, but only silence. When a second query and a third produced the same, Ser Gyles Belgrave threw back the curtains, and found the king dead upon his cushions. "There was blood upon his lips," the knight said. "Elsewise he might have been sleeping." Maesters and common men alike still debate which poison was used, and who might have put it in the king's wine. (Some argue that only Ser Gyles himself could have done so, but it would be unthinkable for a knight of the Kingsguard to take the life of the king he had sworn to protect. Ummet, the king's food taster whose murder Mushroom claims to have seen, seems a more likely candidate.) Yet whilst the hand that poisoned the Arbor red will never be known, we can have no doubt that it was done at the behest of Larys Strong. Thus perished Aegon of House Targaryen, the Second of His Name, firstborn son of King Viserys I Targaryen and Queen Alicent of House Hightower, whose reign proved as brief as it was bitter. He had lived four-and-twenty years and reigned for two. |
„ |
| ~ Aegon's death, recounted by Archmester Gyldayn. |
| “ | Varys: The second Aegon fed Grand Maester Gerardys to his dragon. Tyrion: Alas, I am quite dragonless. I suppose I could have dipped Pycelle in wildfire and set him ablaze. Would the Citadel have preferred that? |
„ |
| ~ Varys and Tyrion Lannister |
| “ | She died a traitor's death for trying to usurp her brother's crown. It is law. Law, Davos. Not cruelty. | „ |
| ~ Stannis Baratheon |
House of the Dragon[]
Spoken by Aegon[]
| “ | Let me go! Brother! Let me go! I have no wish to rule! No taste for duty! I'm not suited. Let me go, and I will find a ship and sail away never to be found. | „ |
| ~ Aegon begging Prince Aemond Targaryen to let him go into exile before his crowning. |
| “ | Otto Hightower: Idiot! Criston Cole: Beware how you speak to your king, my lord. Otto Hightower: The king is my grandson, and my grandson is a fool! He's worse than a fool! He's murdered innocent men! Aegon II: And one guilty one. Otto Hightower: And hanged them from the walls of the city for all to see! Aegon II: Plot against the king, and I will pay it back a hun... Otto Hightower: They are fathers and brothers and sons! And their wives and children gather now at our gates to weep and curse your name! With your child's blood, we bought their approval. With your mother's tears, we made a bitter sacrifice against the deprivations to come. And you've thrown it away. |
„ |
| ~ Otto Hightower, Criston Cole and Aegon II. |
| “ | F-ck dignity! I want revenge. | „ |
| ~ Aegon II to Otto Hightower. |
| “ | Aegon II: I told you we should've sent our dragons, and now look what's happened. Daemon, of all people, has taken Harrenhal. I gave you a job, and now you just sit there. IT'S YOUR F-CKING CASTLE! Larys Strong: Well, that castle is more crippled than I am, Your Grace. It's like to drive Daemon to madness as he attempts to make use of it. It is beyond his faculties. It is also penniless, as I happily control all of its gold. |
„ |
| ~ Aegon II and Larys Strong. |
Spoken about Aegon[]
| “ | It is your great good fortune and privilege to be here to witness this! A new day for our city, a new day for our realm, a new king to lead us! | „ |
| ~ Ser Otto Hightower announcing Aegon's coronation to the crowds in the Dragonpit. |
| “ | All hail His Grace! Aegon, Second of His Name, King of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm! | „ |
| ~ Aegon's investiture proclaimed to the commonfolk by Septon Eustace. |
| “ | Oh, take heart, Your Grace, you've already written yourself into legend. You survived dragonfire. | „ |
| ~ Larys Strong to Aegon. |
| “ | Rook's Rest had left Aegon bent and twisted, his once handsome face puffy from milk of the poppy, with burn scars covering half his body | „ |
| ~ Joffrey Baratheon on Aegon's injuries. |
Trivia[]
- Aegon II Targaryen was partially inspired by Stephen of Blois, who ruled as King of England from 1135-1154. Stephen was the eldest male descendant of his uncle, King Henry I. Upon Henry's death, Stephen contested the crowning of the King's daughter and chosen heir, Matilda. A civil war later known as The Anarchy broke out, which led to Stephen being crowned King of England. As per an armistice with Matilda, Stephen was eventually succeeded by Matilda's son Henry. The Dance of the Dragons, as well as the subsequent crowning of Aegon III, mirrors The Anarchy and accension of King Henry II.
- Aegon II Targaryen was the first ruler of the Targaryen dynasty to be the second of his name, as all of his predecessors (namely Aegon I Targaryen, Aenys I Targaryen, Maegor I Targaryen, Jaehaerys I Targaryen, and Viserys I Targaryen) had been the first of their names.
- Unlike most of the other Targaryen monarchs in Westeros, Aegon II was not anointed and crowned by the High Septon of the Faith, as the latter was unable to make the travel from Oldtown to King's Landing due to his age and health (back then the Starry Sept of Oldtown was still the High Septon and the Most Devout's ecclesiastical seat and the center of the Faith).
- Thus, Aegon was instead anointed by Most Devout member Septon Eustace and crowned by the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Criston Cole, the former serving as a representative of the High Septon in leading coronation customs and ceremony, while the latter was allowed to take the High Septon's place in the act of placing a crown on Aegon's head.
- It is possible that the High Septon might have used his age and frail appearance as an excuse to avoid taking any political side in the feud between the Greens and Blacks to avoid retaliations by either party and their dragons.
- However, it appears more likely that the High Septon was genuinely too frail to travel to King's Landing, as he died shortly after the Dance of the Dragons, and it is also possible he was killed by the Winter Fever outbreak.
- Aegon II has many similarities with Robert I Baratheon.
- Both are known to be usurpers by those who oppose their claims.
- In HBO's TV continuity, both are in unhappy marriages.
- Both are known for being short-tempered, sex-crazed, and gluttonous alcoholics who fathered many bastards.
- Both despise being king, becoming miserable and depressed in the process, although Aegon's suffering is more related to his losses and physical wounds.
- In House of the Dragon, Aegon's appearance as a teenager slightly resembles the book description of Joffrey Baratheon (Lancel Lannister's appearance in Game of Thrones matches Joffrey's book description closer).
- It is widely rumored by Westerosi historians and people (and by the fanbase) that Aegon II's trueborn line was extinguished by Lord Unwin Peake, who is suspected to have had Aegon's last living trueborn child, Queen Jaehaera, murdered by Unwin's half-brother and Kingsguard, Ser Mervyn Flowers, or by Unwin's bodyguard Tessario. However, this was never proven and Jaehaera's death is officially deemed a suicide.
- As such, Aegon's line supposedly became smallfolk population through his various rumored bastards, as Jaehaera died before she could ever have children with her husband Aegon III.
- The parentage of Gaemon Palehair, one of the "Three Kings" in King's Landing during the Dance of the Dragons, also remains unclear and under question within the fanbase, as Gaemon's whore mother, Essie, claimed he was a bastard son of Aegon II. While under torture Essie confessed that Gaemon was fathered by a Lysene oarsman, some readers believe she lied, as torturers tend to force their victims to say what they want to hear.
- Despite officially confirming that Gaemon is not his son, Aegon still spared the then-4-year-old Gaemon on account of his age. However, Aegon also made Gaemon a ward of the Crown and sent him to live in the Red Keep, and to some fans this adds to their theories that Gaemon might actually truly have been the son of Aegon and Essie. As history will never fully be known truthfully, George R. R. Martin left it to his readers to decide whether Gaemon was really Aegon's son.
- During the regency of King Aegon III, Gaemon continued to be part of the Targaryen household, just as Aegon II had ordered, and was one of Aegon III's closest, if not only, true friend, as he reminded the young king of his lost brother Viserys.
- If Gaemon truly was a bastard son of Aegon, then Lord Unwin Peake is possibly responsible for killing two of Aegon's children (along with Jaehaera), as readers theorize that Gaemon was murdered by Lord Peake.
- Gaemon was poisoned at the age of 9, along with Aegon III's wife, Queen Daenaera Velaryon. Both of them were poisoned with the tears of Lys. While Grand Maester Munkun managed to save Daenaera's life with a purgative, he was too late to save Gaemon, who quickly died of poison. The culprit was never identified, as all the confessions obtained by tortured prisoners conflicted, as a tortured person may produce anything just to end their pain. Unwin Peake is the first accused candidate culprit within the fanbase, believing Daenaera was the target. This would make Unwin fully responsible for ending Aegon's only known lineage.
External Links[]
- Aegon II Targaryen on the A Wiki of Ice and Fire.
- Aegon II Targaryen on the Wiki of Westeros.
