House Of The Dragon: How Is Daenerys Targaryen Related To Rhaenyra Targaryen?

The world of Game of Thrones has returned, and it has brought with it even more muddled family histories. When the Targaryens were thriving as the dragon-riding kings of Westeros, the new prequel series House of the Dragon turns the clock back nearly two centuries. "Thriving" might be a bit of a stretch given that everyone is at each other's throats, but that's Westeros for you.

The spinoff still has a very strong connection to the characters from the original series—by blood—despite being aeons removed from the events of Game of Thrones. Let's discuss their relationship since Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow are both descended from our new heroine Rhaenyra Targaryen.

Rhaenyra Targaryen Relation To Daenerys Targaryen

We must first recall how Dany and Jon are tied to one another in order to completely comprehend how the characters in House of the Dragon are related to the Mother of Dragons and the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. Jon found out his real name was Aegon Targaryen before the last season of Game of Thrones. He discovered that Dany was his aunt because he was Rhaegar's son, Daenerys' brother.

This exhaustive Targaryen family tree proves that Princess Rhaenyra and Daenerys are distant relatives, having lived 200 years and nine generations apart. The Targaryens were a distinguished family from Valyria, the seat of the complex Valyrian Freehold civilisation that lasted for 5,000 years on the continent of Essos. The Narrow Sea divides the continent of Essos from Westeros.

The Valyrian peninsula and all of its inhabitants were obliterated by the devastating volcanic disaster known as the Doom of Valyria that followed. Only because the Targaryen dynasty had created a new family outpost at Dragonstone, a volcanic island in the Narrow Sea, 100 years before the natural calamity, were they spared. After Daenerys Targaryen had a vision of the catastrophe and persuaded her father that escaping was their only course of action, the noble family relocated.

Aegon Targaryen travelled to Westeros 100 years after the Doom of Valyria with his sisters (and his spouses), Rhaenys and Visenya, in order to conquer and unify the realm. The Northern territories beyond the Wall and Dorne were not a part of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. After Aegon I the Conqueror, the Targaryen-built Iron Throne saw nearly 20 Targaryen monarchs sit on it until Daenerys' brief reign.

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Despite having lived hundreds of years apart, Daenerys and Rhaenyra are connected by circumstance. In the long run, the two are comparable. Both ride dragons; Rhaenyra began riding Syrax when she was seven years old, while Daenerys rode Drogon. Both characters grow up believing they will be the first queen of the Seven Kingdoms since they have two older brothers who passed away.