Throughout most of Game of Thrones, the Targaryen family was kind of mysterious. That’s what made Dany’s storyline so cool at the beginning of Thrones. She was like Anastasia or something, a missing princess from a family that was overthrown after ruling for centuries. The HBO prequel House of the Dragon informed us right out of the gate that it takes place “172 years before… the birth of Princess Daenerys Targaryen.” Not before Game of Thrones, before Daenerys’ birth. Not Khaleesi either, Princess. They want us to think about that Targaryen connection, possibly because the alleged heroine of the series Rhaenyra Targaryen reminds of us Daenerys at her best. So, how exactly is Rhaenyra connected to Daenerys? Let me walk you through the fiery hot mess that is the Targaryen family tree.

If you don’t want to know anything about who marries who and whose child is whose on future episodes or seasons of House of the Dragon, be warned that there will be spoilers ahead!

The history of the Targaryen family has been documented in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire as well as Fire & Blood and other supplemental texts. Knowing this, we know a lot of what’s going to happen in the prequel series. The short answer is that Dany is directly descended from Rhaenyra and that the two princesses are eight generations apart. The long, nitty gritty answer, is more complicated…

Let’s work back from Dany. As you may remember from Game of Thrones Daenerys Targaryen had two brothers: Rhaegar, and Viserys. Rhaegar was killed after running away with Lyanna Stark and the two of them were Jon Snow’s parents. Viserys and Daenerys were smuggled to Essos and raised in secret. Rhaegar, Viserys, and Daenerys are the children of “The Mad King” Aerys II Targaryen and his sister/wife Rhaella.

(If that makes you queasy, you might wanna nope out of this explainer ASAP. Game of Thrones lightly mentioned how much the Targaryen family loved incest, and more or less “inspired” Jaime and Cersei to continue their affair, but seeing it in action is so much worse.)

Aerys and Rhaella are the children of sibling spouses King Jaehaerys II Targaryen and Shaera Targaryen. Their parents are King Aegon “the Unlikely” V Targaryen and a woman named Bertha Blackwood. Good for you not doing incest, Aegon the Unlikely! His father, King Maekar I, also married outside of the family—a woman named Dyanna Dayne—and Maekar’s father King Daeron “the Good” II Targaryen married Princess Myriah Martell. Then we’re back to incest. Daeron’s parents were King Aegon “the Unworthy” IV Targaryen and his sister Naerys Targaryen. Aegon and Naerys’ mother is a woman named Larra Rogare and their father is King Viserys II Targaryen, the son of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. Viserys II’s father is, maaaajor spoiler alert, Rhaenyra’s uncle Daemon Targaryen. There we have it!

Rhaenyra is Daenerys’ great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother aka her sixth great grandmother. Just don’t think about how many of those grandparents are also great aunts and uncles along the way. Like Dany, Rhaenyra is not initially ambitious about the Iron Throne but, once she’s promised it, starts thinking about how she would change things. Rhaenyra does not seem as ruthless as her descendent, but that may change over time and continued disappointment.

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