Quick answer: Rhaenys Targaryen (born 74 AC), “the Queen Who Never Was,” was the only child of Prince Aemon and the granddaughter of King Jaehaerys I. She was passed over at the Great Council of 101 AC because she was a woman, and she died in 129 AC at Rook’s Rest, fighting two dragons at once on her own dragon, Meleys. She is the Dance’s prologue in one person: the war was fought over a question her life had already answered.
The Council of 101
Rhaenys was the daughter of Jaehaerys I’s eldest son, Prince Aemon, so by blood her claim to the Iron Throne was the strongest. When Aemon died, Jaehaerys named his younger son Baelon heir instead, passing over Rhaenys and her husband Corlys Velaryon, who resigned his seats in anger. At the Great Council of 101 AC, fourteen claims were weighed. Rhaenys and her daughter Laena were rejected because of their sex. Rhaenys and Corlys backed her son Laenor, who lost to Prince Viserys, rumored by twenty votes to one.
The council set a precedent that the throne could not pass to a woman or to a man descended through a woman, and it is the law the Dance would later kill over. For the king it chose, see Viserys I Targaryen.
The Sea Snake’s Queen
Rhaenys married Corlys in 90 AC, when she was sixteen. She had claimed the dragon Meleys, the Red Queen, in 87 AC after her aunt Alyssa’s death. Together they built at Driftmark a power couple: his fleet and fortune, her name and dragon. Their children were Laena (born late 92 AC) and Laenor (born about 94 AC). Laena married Daemon Targaryen. Laenor married Rhaenyra in 114 AC, which made Rhaenys the mother-in-law of the princess who would later be named queen, and officially the grandmother of her sons. In 120 AC both children died: Laena in childbirth, and Laenor stabbed to death by Ser Qarl Correy at a fair in Spicetown.
When the war came, Rhaenys shared command of the Black war council with Corlys. She knew exactly what the lords of Westeros would and would not accept from a queen, because they had told her to her face in 101.
Rook’s Rest
Her end was a choice, which is why it lands. In 129 AC, nine days after Lord Staunton pleaded for help at Rook’s Rest, Rhaenys flew Meleys over the battlefield. Aegon II and Aemond arrived at the same moment on their dragons, Sunfyre and Vhagar. Rhaenys turned to fight rather than flee. The three dragons fell entangled. Meleys died, and a blackened body believed to be Rhaenys was found beside her, though no one could say for certain it was her. She was fifty-five. Archmaester Gyldayn has her living fearlessly and dying amid blood and fire.
The Black cause lost its steadiest head that day, and Corlys blamed Rhaenyra for it. See where Rhaenys’s branch sits on the interactive Targaryen family tree.
Rhaenys at a Glance
| Detail | Record |
|---|---|
| Born | 74 AC |
| Parents | Prince Aemon Targaryen and Jocelyn Baratheon |
| Husband | Corlys Velaryon (married 90 AC) |
| Children | Laena (b. 92 AC) and Laenor (b. c. 94 AC) |
| Dragon | Meleys, the Red Queen |
| Died | 129 AC, Rook’s Rest, aged 55 |
FAQ
Why wasn’t Rhaenys queen?
The Great Council of 101 AC rejected her claim, and her daughter Laena’s, because they were women. The lords favored Viserys over her son Laenor, reportedly twenty to one.
What was the Great Council of 101?
A kingdom-wide council at Harrenhal called by King Jaehaerys I to settle his succession. Its ruling in favor of the male line became the precedent used against Rhaenyra.
How does Rhaenys die?
At Rook’s Rest in 129 AC, on Meleys, she met Aegon II on Sunfyre and Aemond on Vhagar and turned to fight. All three dragons fell entangled. Meleys died, and a body believed to be Rhaenys was found beside her.
What dragon did Rhaenys ride?
Meleys, the Red Queen, whom she claimed in 87 AC after her aunt Alyssa’s death.
Was Rhaenys related to Rhaenyra?
Yes. Rhaenys was first cousin to Viserys I, so Rhaenyra’s first cousin once removed. When Rhaenyra married Rhaenys’s son Laenor in 114 AC, Rhaenys also became her mother-in-law.
Related Pages
- Viserys I Targaryen
- Corlys Velaryon
- Rhaenyra Targaryen
- Jacaerys Velaryon
- Who won the Dance of the Dragons
- House of the Dragon family tree guide