Quick answer: Aegon II was the eldest son of King Viserys I and Alicent Hightower, crowned in 129 AC despite his half-sister Rhaenyra being the named heir — a decision that kicked off the Dance of the Dragons, the civil war that killed him, his rival, all three of his children, and nearly every dragon alive. He’s the green branch of the Targaryen family tree — the one that burned.
| Born | 107 AC |
| Died | 131 AC — poisoned by his own council |
| Parents | King Viserys I & Alicent Hightower |
| Siblings | Helaena (also his wife), Aemond, Daeron · half-sister: Rhaenyra |
| Children | Jaehaerys, Jaehaera (twins), Maelor — none survived the war |
| Dragon | Sunfyre, called “the Golden” — the most beautiful dragon ever seen |
Who Was Aegon II?
Start with an uncomfortable fact: Aegon never asked for the crown. By most accounts — and House of the Dragon leans hard into this — he was a reluctant, drinking, womanizing disappointment of a prince who knew perfectly well that his father had named Rhaenyra heir and had made peace with it. When Viserys died in 129 AC, it was his mother Alicent, his grandsire Otto Hightower, and Ser Criston Cole who put the crown on his head. Criston earned the nickname “the Kingmaker” for it. Aegon earned a civil war.
Once crowned, though, he played the role to the hilt — literally, since his chosen regalia was Aegon the Conqueror’s own crown and Blackfyre, the Conqueror’s sword. The message was deliberate: I am the true king, and I have the props to prove it.
(Speaking of Aegons: this is Aegon the Second, the Dance-era king. For the Conqueror, see Aegon I’s page. The family reused about six names for three hundred years; we don’t make the rules, we just make the tree.)
The Dance: Blood for Blood
The war that followed — the Dance of the Dragons — was, at heart, Aegon’s family and Rhaenyra’s family murdering each other until almost nobody was left. The lowlights, from Aegon’s side of the tree:
- His son Jaehaerys, a small child, was beheaded in front of his mother by the assassins Blood and Cheese — Daemon Targaryen’s answer to the death of Rhaenyra’s son Lucerys.
- His brother Aemond and the great dragon Vhagar became his blunt instrument — until Aemond met Daemon over the God’s Eye and neither came back.
- At Rook’s Rest, Aegon and Sunfyre took grievous wounds killing Princess Rhaenys and her dragon Meleys. Aegon was left burned and broken, confined to a milk-of-the-poppy haze for a year while Aemond ruled as regent.
- His son Maelor was torn apart by a mob at Bitterbridge. His wife Helaena — gentle, dragon-dreaming Helaena, the best of them — fell (or was pushed) from Maegor’s Holdfast onto the spikes below.
By 130 AC, Aegon had lost his children, his wife, his brothers’ loyalty, and most of his body. He still had the throne. He’d have traded.
“Sunfyre’s Feast”: The Death of Rhaenyra
And yet — the man did win, briefly, in the most horrifying way possible. Smuggled to Dragonstone during his recovery, Aegon took the island castle by treachery, and when Rhaenyra fled there in 130 AC, she walked straight into his hands.
His vengeance was biblical: he had her fed to Sunfyre, while her son Aegon the Younger watched. The golden dragon — himself dying of wounds — bathed her in flame and ate her in six bites, per the histories. It’s the scene the whole Dance builds toward, and it’s why, whatever the maesters wrote afterward, nobody’s memory of Aegon II is a kind one.
Death by His Own Side (131 AC)
Aegon returned to a King’s Landing he no longer really held. Rhaenyra was dead, but her supporters — the riverlords, the northmen under Cregan Stark — were marching on the city, and Aegon had nothing left to fight them with. His council begged him to surrender, take the black, and live.
He refused. Hours later, his council solved the problem the way King’s Landing councils traditionally do: poisoned wine. Lord Corlys Velaryon and Larys Strong are the names history points at, though no one was ever formally blamed — mostly because the people who did it then arrested the people coming to avenge it. Politics.
He was twenty-four. His line died with him: his only surviving child, Jaehaera, married Rhaenyra’s son Aegon III to bind the factions together, then died two years later, childless. The throne passed entirely to Rhaenyra’s line — which is why we wrote the honest answer to who actually won the Dance.
Aegon II’s Place in the Family Tree
Viserys I ═ Alicent Hightower
│
┌───────────┼──────────────┬──────────┐
Aegon II Helaena Aemond Daeron
│ ════ (sister-wife)
│ │
Jaehaerys, Jaehaera, Maelor
(all died in or just after the Dance)
│
[LINE EXTINCT — throne passes to Rhaenyra's sons]Half-brother to Rhaenyra, husband to his sister, king for two years, ancestor of no one. Find him — and the branch that replaced his — on the interactive Targaryen family tree.
FAQ
Is Aegon II the same as Aegon the Conqueror?
No — Aegon I conquered Westeros in 1 AC; Aegon II ruled 129–131 AC during the Dance of the Dragons. There are eventually five King Aegons. Bring a chart. (We have one.)
Who were Aegon II’s parents?
King Viserys I and his second wife, Alicent Hightower — making Aegon the eldest son of the “green” branch, and half-brother to Rhaenyra, Viserys’s daughter by his first marriage.
How did Aegon II die?
Poisoned wine, administered by his own council in 131 AC as Rhaenyra’s armies closed on King’s Landing. He’d refused to surrender; they chose survival.
Did Aegon II have any surviving children?
No. Jaehaerys was murdered by Blood and Cheese, Maelor was killed by a mob at Bitterbridge, and Jaehaera — who married Aegon III to unite the factions — died childless two years after the war.
Why is he called Aegon the Elder?
To distinguish him from Rhaenyra’s son, Aegon the Younger (later Aegon III). Rhaenyra’s supporters had their own name for the king: Aegon the Usurper.
What happened to his dragon?
Sunfyre, the golden dragon, never recovered from his wounds and died at Dragonstone in 130 AC — weeks after devouring Rhaenyra. Rider and dragon died within months of each other, which is the closest thing to poetry this story gets.