Who is Rhaenyra Targaryen to Daenerys?

The first episode of House of the Dragon landed for streaming on Sunday, August 21. Based on Martin’s Fire and Blood, the gore-filled premiere episode was all about King Viserys finding a worthy successor for the Iron Throne of Westeros. Although all the characters equally hold an important place in the show, this post talks about princess Rhaenyra and how she is connected to Daenerys Targaryen of Game of Thrones.

Game of Thrones fans did not take much time to compare Rhaenyra Targaryen with Daenerys as they first saw the younger version of Rhaenyra, played by Milly Alcock. So, how are both of the characters related when they don’t even share the same timeline? Well, let’s explore a bit about Rhaenyra and what’s her relationship with Daenerys.

Warning: House of the Dragon spoilers ahead

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Who is Rhaenyra Targaryen?

Rhaenyra Targaryen was the only surviving daughter of King Viserys I and his first wife, Aemma. Even though Viserys’ brother Daemon was his closest blood relation to be his successor, he chose Rhaenyra for the throne. However, not many of the people of the Kingdom were happy with his decision.

In 2020, Rhaenyra Targaryen was declared the titular character in House of the Dragon, and Emma D’Arcy was signed to essay the role. Later in 2021, Milly Alcock bagged the role of young Rhaenyra. Apart from this, HBO Max also described the character as:

“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.”

Who is Rhaenyra Targaryen to Daenerys?

The events of Game of Thrones took place after 200 years of House of the Dragon, and the Targaryen family from House of the Dragon are the ancestors of GOT’s Targaryen family. Among all the characters, princess Rhaenyra has a massive number of similar traits to that of Daenerys, one of the most influential characters in Game of Thrones.

Daenerys and Rhaenyra belong to different eras and are set nine generations apart, making Rhaenyra the former’s aunt. Two of them are dragon riders, Daenerys rode the Dragon, and Rhaenyra rode the she-dragon Syrax. Both of them had to compete for the throne with their own people as they lived in a male-dominated era.

Giving a more clear picture of the connection between Rhaenyra and Daenerys, Milly Alcock revealed in an interview with TVLine:

“She’s met with very similar challenges that Daenerys is also brought with, in not being viable in her claim to the throne and having other people constantly be like, You’re not legitimate.”

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