Warning: Major spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon season 3 episode 3.
For two entire seasons of House of the Dragon, Alicent Hightower’s son, Prince Daeron Targaryen, has been MIA. In season 3 episode 3, however, that’s all changed.
The latest episode of the Game of Thrones prequel saw Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) confront Lord Ormund Hightower (James Norton), and collect Prince Daeron as a prisoner.
Except, he didn’t. The boy he collected was actually an imposter, ordered to pose as the prince while the real Daeron remains with Ormund.
Here’s everything you need to know about the (real) Daeron and how he fits into House Targaryen.
**Mild spoiler warnings for the book Fire and Blood**
Who is Prince Daeron Targaryen in House of the Dragon?
King Viserys I Targaryen has four children with his second wife, Queen Alicent Hightower, in the book Fire and Blood and the series House of the Dragon.
- King Aegon II Targaryen
- Queen Helaena Targaryen
- Prince Regent Aemond Targaryen
- Prince Daeron Targaryen
Prince Daeron Targaryen, despite being Viserys and Alicent’s third son, was their most popular in the book due to his intelligence and kindness.
Daeron was born shortly after Prince Jacaerys Velaryon in the book and should have been mentioned in the series after the time jump that began episode 6. However, Daeron did not appear or was mentioned in the first season.
In the second season, following the death of King Viserys, Alicent asks after her fourth and youngest child Prince Daeron Targaryen who has gone to ward at the ancestral Hightower seat of Oldtown.
So, Daeron has been living with his cousin Lord Ormund Hightower and his uncle Ser Gwayne Hightower.
Ser Gwayne reveals that Daeron more closely resembles his Hightower relatives and has grown up to be a charming, kind, intelligent and courageous boy.
Alicent is left to wonder if her most well-adjusted child is happier because he grew up away from King’s Landing or whether he grew up away from her parenting.
In the seventh episode of season 2, Daeron is revealed to have begun flying his dragon Tessarion.
In a blog post by George R R Martin reflecting on the television adaptation, he stated: “Do I wish we’d had more time to explore the relationship between Rhaenyra and Ser Harwin, the marriage of Daemon and Laena and their time in Pentos, the birth of various and sundry children (and YES, Alicent gave Viserys four children, three sons and a daughter, their youngest son Daeron is down in Oldtown, we just did not have the time to work him in this season), and everything else we had to skip? Sure.
“But there are only so many minutes in an episode (more on HBO than on the network shows I once wrote for), and only so many episodes in a season.”
Meanwhile, after the airing of the season 1 finale ‘The Black Queen’, showrunner Ryan Condal teased a role for Daeron going ahead.
Condal revealed to Variety: “He does exist. No worries, everybody. He’s the youngest son. He’s warded off at Oldtown to Hobert Hightower and soon to Ormond Hightower, who is Hobert’s nephew, who becomes Lord of Oldtown.
“Honestly, this stuff happened all the time in this world. It’s not our modern day where if you had a 6-year-old, you would FaceTime them every day and see how they’re doing and write letters. He’s there. That’s the fact.
“When he is relevant to be mentioned — and he will be — he will be mentioned.”
Now, we’re expecting to see a lot more of Daeron in season 3.
What happens to Prince Daeron Targaryen in Fire and Blood?
In the book, due to the feuding within the family, Daeron ended up a rival to the sons of his half-sister Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen.
Daeron was also a dragonrider with a mount in the dragon Tessarion.
At the age of 12, Daeron was sent to serve as a cupbearer and squire for House Hightower in Oldtown, leaving him firmly entrenched in Alicent’s faction known as the “Greens”.
When the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons breaks out, Daeron was still at Oldtown but eventually becomes a vital figure in the war despite only being aged 15.
Daeron is a popular figure who is well-liked in the fight for the succession rights of his older brother, King Aegon II Targaryen.
In the book, the people of Westeros come to refer to Daeron as “Daeron the Daring” as he takes part in battles and shows himself to be courageous and skilled.
House of the Dragon season 3 is available to stream on HBO Max, Sky and NOW. Seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream on HBO Max, Sky and NOW – find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV.
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