The Unofficial Guide to Game of Thrones by Kim Renfro

Author:Kim Renfro
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: 2019-10-07T16:00:00+00:00

PRINCE RHAEGAR’S EARLY YEARS AND THE MAD KING

Rhaegar was the firstborn child of King Aerys II and Rhaella Targaryen (who themselves were brother and sister, wed in traditional Targaryen fashion to keep their bloodlines more pure). In A Song of Ice and Fire, Barristan Selmy tells Dany that her oldest brother, Rhaegar, was “bookish to a fault” as a child and disinterested in fighting.

But one day Rhaegar discovered something in his readings, something that upended his habits and made him eager to begin training with his master-at-arms. “It seems I must be a warrior,” the young Rhaegar said.

Some fans believe Rhaegar uncovered a prophecy in those ancient scrolls, and that this prophecy motivated most of his life choices from then on. By the time he was seventeen, Prince Rhaegar was already knighted and winning tournaments, besting legendary warriors like Barristan Selmy. He played the harp and sang beautifully at feasts and gatherings as noblewomen around Westeros swooned for his silver hair and dark indigo eyes. In the books, Cersei remembers how excited she was when she thought Rhaegar would marry her one day. “Next to Rhaegar, even her beautiful Jaime had seemed no more than a callow boy,” Martin wrote.

Meanwhile, the already insecure King Aerys grew more paranoid and resentful by the day.

During a skirmish in which a rebelling lord held King Aerys hostage, Tywin Lannister (who was Hand of the King) seemed unconcerned about his potential death, saying they had “a better king right here,” as he gestured toward Rhaegar. Once the rebellion was put to an end and he returned to his seat of power, King Aerys was more distrustful than ever. He believed Rhaegar and Tywin had plotted together to have him slain so the young prince could sit on the Iron Throne with Cersei at his side as queen.

So King Aerys refused Tywin’s offer of marrying Rhaegar to Cersei Lannister. Instead, Rhaegar was married to Princess Elia Martell of Dorne, the younger sister of Oberyn and Doran Martell. They had two children together, Rhaenys and Aegon. Rhaegar and Elia chose to live on Dragonstone instead of in King’s Landing, which only fueled Aerys’s suspicions of Rhaegar’s every move.

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