‘House of Dragon’ Family Tree: Here’s How the Targaryens, Hightowers & More Are Related
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If you’re confused by how the Targaryens, Hightowers and other Westeros characters are related, you may want to know about the House of Dragon family tree to see how the Targaryen and Hightower families are connected.
House of Dragon is a prequel to HBO’s Game of Thrones, which ran for eight seasons from 2011 to 2019. Both series are based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books. House of Dragons—which is specifically inspired by Martin’s 2018 novel, Fire & Blood—is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and chronicles the beginning of the end of House Targaryen and the events leading up to the the war of succession for the Targaryen crown, also known as the Dance of Dragons.
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Watch ‘House of Dragon’ on HBO Max $9.99+
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In an interview with Vanity Fair, creator Ryan J. Condal explained how Martin came to him with the idea for House of Dragon. “George very kindly involved me in this project nearly four years ago. It was September of 2018 when I got called up to the major leagues,” he said. “After that, in the midst, we had this whole pandemic situation that seemed to make time roll back on itself. It just feels bizarre, in a way, after making this thing seemingly inside of a vacuum over in Watford, England, for so long, to suddenly have an audience full of people in a theater [watching] a finished show. There were times that it felt like it would never get finished.”
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But back to the House of Dragon family tree. Read on to see the family trees for the Targaryens and Hightowers to see how the Westeros characters are related and who is next in line for the Iron Throne.
House of Dragon Family Tree
Read on for the House of Dragon family tree for the Targaryens and the Hightowers.
Targaryen Family Tree
Read on for the Targaryen family tree.
King Jaeherys I Targaryen
Wife: Alysanne Targaryen
Children: Aemon Targaryen, Baelon Targaryen, Alyssa Targaryen
Grandchildren: King Viserys I Targaryen, Prince Daemon Targaryen, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Baelon Targaryen
Great-granddaughter: Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Laena Velaryon, Laenor Velaryon
King Jaeherys I Targaryen, played by Michael Carter, is the grandfather of King Viserys I Targaryen, Prince Daemon Targaryen, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen and the great-grandfather of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, among others. Read HBO‘s official description of King Jaeherys I Targaryen: “King Jaehaerys, known commonly as the Old King, reigned over the realm for nearly six decades of peace and prosperity. Father to thirteen children, unfortunate tragedy claimed both his sons and heirs, leaving the question of his succession as a cause for unrest. Calling upon a Great Council to choose his heir peacefully, his grandson Viserys Targaryen was named his successor.”
King Viserys I Targaryen
Grandparents: King Jaeherays I Targaryen, Alyssane Targaryen
Parents: Baelon Targaryen, Alyssa Targaryen
Wife: Queen Aemma Arryn
Brother: Prince Daemon Targaryen
Cousin: Princess Rhaenys Targaryen
Daughter: Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Baelon Targaryen
King Viserys I Targaryen, played by Paddy Considine, is the fifth King of the Seven Kingdoms. He became king of the Iron Throne after he was chosen by a council of lords to succeed his grandfather, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen. He is the father of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Baelon Targaryen, the older brother of Prince Daemon Targaryen, the cousin of Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, and the husband of Queen Aemma Arryn.
Read HBO‘s official description of King Viserys I Targaryen: “Viserys was chosen by the lords of Westeros to succeed the Old King, Jaehaerys Targaryen, at the Great Council at Harrenhal. A warm, kind, and decent man, Viserys only wishes to carry forward his grandfather’s legacy, but as we’ve learned from Game of Thrones, good men do not necessarily make for great kings.”
Queen Aemma Arryn
Husband: King Viserys I Targaryen
Children: Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Baelon Targaryen
Queen Aemma Arryn, played by Sian Brooke, is the queen consort and the wife of King Viserys I Targaryen. She is the mother of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Baelon Targaryen. Read HBO‘s official description of Queen Aemma Arryn: Wife of King Viserys I Targaryen and mother of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Queen Aemma passed away in childbirth after delivering a boy. The young male heir, Prince Baelon, also died shortly thereafter. Her family is the principal house in the Vale, where they reside in the Eyrie.
Prince Daemon Targaryen
Grandparents: King Jaeherays I Targaryen, Alyssane Targaryen
Brother: King Viserys I Targaryen
Cousin: Princess Rhaenys Targaryen
Niece and nephew: Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Baelon Targaryen
Prince Daemon Targaryen, played by Matt Smith, is the heir presumptive to the Iron Throne. He is the grandson of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, the younger brother of King Viserys I Targaryen, the uncle of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Baelon Targaryen, and the cousin of Princess Rhaenys Targaryen. Read HBO‘s official description of Prince Daemon Targaryen: “The younger brother to King Viserys, and peerless warrior and dragonrider, Daemon possesses the true blood of the dragon. But it is said that whenever a Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin in the air…”
Princess Rhaenys Targaryen
Grandparents: King Jaeherays I Targaryen, Alyssane Targaryen
Husband: Lord Corlys Velaryon
Cousins: King Viserys I Targaryen, Prince Daemon Targaryen
Children: Laena Velaryon, Laenor Velaryon
First cousins once removed: Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Baelon Targaryen
Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, played Eve Best, is known as the “Queen Who Never Was” after she was once set to succeed her grandfather, King I Targaryen, to become the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms but was passed over for her cousin, King Viserys I Targaryen. She is also the cousin of Prince Daemon Targaryen and the first cousin once removed of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Baelon Targaryen. Read HBO‘s official description of Princess Rhaenys Targaryen: “A dragonrider and wife to Lord Corlys Velaryon, “The Queen Who Never Was” was passed over as heir to the throne at the Great Council because the realm favored her cousin, Viserys, simply for being male.”
Wife: Princess Rhaenys Targaryen
Children: Laena Velaryon, Laenor Velaryon
Lord Corlys Velaryon, played by Steve Toussaint, the head of House Velaryon. Known as the Sea Snake, Lord Corlys Velaryon is the most famous seafarer in Westeros history. He is the husband of Princess Rhaenys Targaryen and the father of Laena and Leanor Valaryon. Read HBO‘s official description of Lord Corlys Velaryon: “The lord of House Velaryon, a Valyrian bloodline as old as House Targaryen. As “The Sea Snake,” the most famed nautical adventurer in the history of Westeros, Lord Corlys built his house into a powerful seat that is even richer than the Lannisters and that claims the largest navy in the world.”
Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen
Great-grandparents: King Jaeherays I Targaryen, Alyssane Targaryen
Parents: King Viserys I Targaryen, Queen Aemma Arryn
Uncle: Prince Daemon Targaryen
First cousin once removed: Princess Rhaenys Targaryen
Brother: Baelon Targaryen
Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, played by Emma D’Arcy and Milly Alcock, is the first-born child of King Viserys I Targaryen and is expected to become the first queen regnant of the Seven Kingdoms. She is the great-granddaughter of King Jaeherys I Targaryen, the daughter of King Viserys I Targaryen and Queen Aemma Arryn, the niece of Prince Daemon Targaryen, the first cousin once removed of Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, and the older sister of Baelon Targaryen. Read HBO‘s official description of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen: “The king’s first-born child. She is of pure Valyrian blood, and she is a dragonrider. Many would say that Rhaenyra was born with everything… but she was not born a man.”
Hightower Family Tree
Read on for the Hightower family tree.
Ser Otto Hightower
Brother: Hobert Hightower
Children: Alicent Hightower, Gwayne Hightower
Ser Otto Hightower, played by Rhys Ifans, is the Hand of the King to King Viserys I Targaryen. He is the father of Lady Alicent Hightower and Gwayne Hightower, and a rival of Prince Daemon Targaryen. Read HBO‘s official description of Ser Otto Hightower: “The Hand of the King, Ser Otto loyally and faithfully serves both his king and his realm. As the Hand sees it, the greatest threat to the realm is the king’s brother, Daemon, and his position as heir to the throne.”
Lady Alicent Hightower
Father: Ser Otto Hightower
Uncle: Hobert Hightower
Brother: Gwayne Hightower
Lady Alicent Hightower, played by Olivia Cooke and Emily Carey, was raised in the Red Keep and is part of King Viserys I Targaryen’s inner circle. She is the daughter of Ser Otto Hightower and the sister of Gwayne Hightower. Read HBO‘s official description of Lady Alicent Hightower: “She’s the daughter of Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, and the most comely woman in the Seven Kingdoms. She was raised in the Red Keep, close to the king and his innermost circle; she possesses both a courtly grace and a keen political acumen.”
In an interview with Vanity Fair, House of Dragon creator Ryan J. Condal explained about how much more of a budget House of Dragon had for its first season than for Game of Thrones‘ first season before the show became a bonafide hit. “We went into the series knowing that this was a time of high decadence. We consider this the apex of the Targaryen empire, so we really wanted to communicate this idea of wealth and prosperity and the fact that there had been six years of peace,” he said. “The Targaryens really were able to develop all the nice things that happened: peacetime, statues and art, and roads and fountains.” He continued, “I think the original Game of Thrones feels…some of this is due to just, those poor guys had a fifth of the resources that we have now. But thanks to the great success that they earned along the way, we were just given it when we walked in the door. We used that to really make this seem like the previous [show] feels like an empire in decay, the great dynasty has fallen, the Targaryens are gone. They’ve been replaced by Robert Baratheon, who is not known for being a progressive leader who puts coin back into the betterment of the kingdom.”
In an interview with The Guardian, Eve Best, who plays Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, revealed that she had never seen Game of Thrones before filming its prequel.” I was a complete Game of Thrones virgin. I knew it was a big deal but was unprepared for the sheer, gobsmacking scale of it. Walking on to the set was like walking into New York but instead of towering skyscrapers, it’s Dragonstone. The crew was nearly 4,000 people, which was jaw-dropping. I’ve caught up since,” she said.
Due to House of Dragon‘s connection to Game of Thrones, Best also explained that everything, from the scripts to her audition, were kept top-secret. “Everything was very secretive. To audition, we were initially sent a scene from the original Game of Thrones with the names changed,” she said. “We weren’t even told the title of the new show. When eventually I was sent a real script, I loved the writing. Ryan [Condal] and Miguel [Sapochnik, co-showrunners] hooked me in immediately with the driving theme of the series. There is a line my character says early on: “Men would sooner put the realm to the torch than see a woman ascend to the Iron Throne.” Lose the word “Iron” from that sentence and it feels all too relevant. To top it all off, they told me my character was a dragon rider. I was in!”
House of Dragon is available to stream on HBO Max. Here’s how to watch it for free.
Watch ‘House of Dragon’ $9.99+
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