House of the Dragon: Who is Aegon II Targaryen and Alicent Hightower’s Children Explained
Things get more and more complicated in House of the Dragon, it all started in chapter 2 when, after rejecting Corlys Velaryon’s daughter, Viserys I (who at least had the decency to reject a forced child marriage), he chooses Alicent Hightower, his teenage daughter’s best friend, as his new wife and queen. Before this announcement, Viserys I had already chosen his eldest daughter, Rhaenyra Targaryen, as his heir, but this was because his son died and because Daemon made the announcement (which turned out to be false) that he was to be married and his future wife was expecting a baby, which could certainly be a boy, which would be no good for her older brother or niece.
Rhaenyra ends up proving her worth by rescuing the dragon egg her uncle stole, but for Viserys or the kingdom’s rules of succession that wasn’t enough, so he gives in to the pressure and agrees to marry, and this is the beginning of the story end of peace among the Targaryens. Why? Well, because, with Alicent Hightower, the king has the possibility of having more children, and a male heir, and that is precisely what happens. Rhaenyra lost her place on the throne when Alicent became the mother of a child, whom they call Aegon, and this leads Otto Hightower to start turning gears to put his grandson in the place Viserys already gave him he had promised his eldest daughter.
House of the Dragon: Who is Aegon II Targaryen?
Viserys I and Alicent Hightower marry and everyone around them expects them to do their “duty”, which is to produce an heir to carry on the family legacy, and it’s not long before she becomes pregnant and gives birth to Aegon. II, named after Aegon The Conqueror (who originally brought the Targaryens to the throne). Aegon is just a baby in chapter 3, but we know that he becomes the biggest thorn in Rhaenyra’s shoe, plus he has several brothers who support him when he decides to claim the throne.
Aegon II is the first son of Viserys I and Alicent Hightower, he was named after the famous ancestor who conquered Westeros and put the Targaryens on the throne, but he is also the grandson of Otto Hightower, the head of one of the most powerful families and Hand of the King, who sees his first grandson as an opportunity to have much more power and control over the kingdom. Although he is just a baby, the fact that he is a boy means that Rhaenyra’s reign is in danger, and this becomes more evident when the boy, whose dragon is named after Sunfyre and is identified by its golden color, grows up and decides to claim the throne, while his sister was in Dragonstone with her husband/uncle, Daemon Targaryen.
Alicent Hightower’s Other Children
Helena Targaryen
Princess Helaena is the younger sister of Aegon II, who married her brother following the family’s tradition of incest (which they supposedly followed as a way of keeping the bloodline pure, and because of Aegon I’s prophecy), which said that a Targaryen must be on the throne to save humanity). Helaena and Aegon had 3 children, Jaehaerys, Jaehaera and Maelor, who was the youngest son of the couple, but became his father’s heir when his older brother was killed (by two assassins who forced their mother to choose which one) of her children must die. She chose Maelor, but the assassins killed her brother).
Aemond Targaryen and Daeron Targaryen
Aemond, also known as Aemond One-Eye, came to be known as Kingslayer (as did Jaime Lannister). The second son of Alicent and Viserys lost an eye in a fight with his nephew Lucerys but is said to have been one of the greatest warriors in the realm. According to the books, Aemond gets to be the rider of Vhagar, who is the greatest powerful dragon, and originally belonged to Visenya Targaryen, wife of Aegon The Conqueror.
Daeron is the youngest son of the king and his dragon was called Tessarion, who accompanied him in the battles that took place during the Dance of the Dragons, and helped him save his army. During the events of the civil war, Daeron becomes heir to the throne, and Rhaenyra sees him as a major obstacle to reclaiming the throne from him.
