The Targaryen Bloodline: 7 Shocking Secrets Hidden In The Game Of Thrones Family Tree (Updated 2025)
The intricate and often incestuous tapestry of the Game of Thrones family tree remains one of the most compelling aspects of the entire *A Song of Ice and Fire* universe. With the massive success of *House of the Dragon* and the anticipation for new spin-offs like *A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms*, understanding the deep, twisted roots of Westeros's noble houses is more crucial than ever. As of December 21, 2025, the Targaryen dynasty's lineage, stretching back to Valyrian origins, provides the freshest and most shocking secrets.
The history of the Seven Kingdoms is a violent cycle of ambition, betrayal, and blood ties. This updated guide cuts through the centuries of confusion to reveal the most critical connections, focusing on the silver-haired conquerors and the shocking truths that define the world of ice and fire.
1. The Complete Targaryen Dynasty: From Valyria to Daenerys
House Targaryen is the cornerstone of the entire saga, a family defined by its dragons, its silver-gold hair, and its tradition of sibling marriage to "keep the blood pure." Their story spans centuries, from their escape from the Doom of Valyria to the reign of Daenerys Targaryen, the Last of Her Name.
- Daenys the Dreamer: The prophetess who foresaw the Doom of Valyria, leading her family to relocate to Dragonstone twelve years before the cataclysm.
- Aegon I Targaryen (The Conqueror): The founder of the dynasty who, along with his sister-wives Visenya and Rhaenys, conquered six of the Seven Kingdoms atop their dragons, Balerion, Vhagar, and Meraxes.
- Jaehaerys I Targaryen (The Conciliator): The longest-reigning Targaryen king, known for his wisdom and peace, married to his sister Alysanne. He is the grandfather of Viserys I.
- Viserys I Targaryen: The king whose succession crisis—naming his daughter Rhaenyra as heir over his son Aegon II—ignited the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons.
- Rhaenyra Targaryen: The figure at the heart of *House of the Dragon*, named heir but forced to fight her half-brother Aegon II for the Iron Throne.
- Maester Aemon Targaryen: A sworn brother of the Night's Watch, he was the great-uncle of Daenerys and the brother of King Aegon V (Egg).
- Aerys II Targaryen (The Mad King): The final king of the dynasty, overthrown by Robert's Rebellion. Father to Rhaegar, Viserys, and Daenerys.
- Daenerys Targaryen: The "Mother of Dragons," daughter of Aerys II, who sought to reclaim the Iron Throne.
2. The Dance of the Dragons: The Civil War That Tore the House Apart
The conflict depicted in *House of the Dragon* is not just a family feud; it’s the most devastating civil war in Westerosi history, the Dance of the Dragons.
It began with King Viserys I's death and the competing claims of his daughter, Princess Rhaenyra, and his son by his second wife, Queen Alicent Hightower, Prince Aegon II. This conflict established the two warring factions: the "Blacks" (Rhaenyra's supporters) and the "Greens" (Alicent and Aegon II's supporters).
The core of the conflict was a clash of tradition and precedent. Naming a woman, Rhaenyra, as heir was unprecedented, but she was the only surviving child of Viserys's first marriage to Aemma Arryn. The Greens argued for the traditional male-preference primogeniture, supporting Aegon II. The resulting war saw dragons fighting dragons, leading to the near-extinction of the species and permanently weakening the Targaryen rule.
The legacy of this war is critical, as it directly foreshadows the conflicts in *Game of Thrones*, demonstrating the fragility of the Iron Throne and the destructive power of a divided royal house.
3. The Stark-Targaryen Connection: The Truth of Jon Snow
For years, the parentage of Jon Snow was the biggest mystery in *Game of Thrones*. The family tree reveals that the stoic Ned Stark was not Jon's father, but his uncle.
Jon Snow's true parents were Rhaegar Targaryen, the eldest son of the Mad King Aerys II, and Lyanna Stark, Ned's sister. This union was a secret marriage, not a kidnapping as commonly believed by the realm, making Jon Snow the legitimate heir to the Iron Throne—a fact Ned Stark protected with his life. His birth name is Aegon Targaryen (the sixth of that name, if you count the two kings in *House of the Dragon*).
This revelation makes Daenerys Targaryen not Jon’s lover, but his aunt, adding a layer of tragic irony and incest to their relationship, a dark echo of the Targaryen tradition they both despised. The ultimate union of "Ice and Fire" was a blood relation.
4. The Lannister Scandal: A Golden Family's Dark Secret
While the Targaryens practiced open incest, the Lannisters of Casterly Rock concealed theirs, leading to a major political upheaval. The Lannister family tree is superficially straightforward, tracing back to Lann the Clever, a legendary trickster.
However, the three children of Lord Tywin Lannister—Cersei, Jaime, and Tyrion—are the source of the family's most infamous secret. Cersei and her twin brother, Jaime, engaged in a decades-long incestuous relationship. This relationship produced all of Queen Cersei's children: Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen Baratheon.
The crucial point is that none of these children were true Baratheons; they were all Lannisters. Their parentage was the secret that led to the execution of Ned Stark and ultimately destabilized the kingdom, proving that hidden bloodlines can be just as destructive as open ones.
5. The Baratheon and Velaryon Lineages: The Targaryen Cousins
Two other great houses are inextricably linked to the Targaryen bloodline:
- House Baratheon: The founder of House Baratheon, Orys Baratheon, was rumored to be the bastard half-brother of Aegon the Conqueror. Later, the Baratheon line was cemented to the Targaryens when Robert Baratheon's grandmother was a Targaryen princess, making Robert a distant cousin and giving him a claim to the throne during his rebellion.
- House Velaryon: In *House of the Dragon*, the Velaryons of Driftmark, led by Lord Corlys Velaryon (The Sea Snake) and his wife Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (The Queen Who Never Was), are crucial allies to Rhaenyra's faction. The Velaryons are an ancient Valyrian family, and their children's marriages to Targaryen heirs were intended to strengthen the dragon-riding bloodline, though the legitimacy of Rhaenyra's children with Laenor Velaryon becomes a central point of contention.
6. The Next Generation: *A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms* Connections
The family tree continues to expand with the upcoming spin-off, *A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms*. This series is set approximately 90 years before *Game of Thrones*, during the reign of Aegon V Targaryen, known as "Egg."
Egg’s story is a key link. He is the younger brother of Maester Aemon and the great-great-grandfather of Daenerys. The show will explore the era of the "Hedge Knight," Dunk (Ser Duncan the Tall), and his squire, Egg. This period is a direct precursor to the events of Robert's Rebellion, showing the decline of Targaryen power before the Mad King's reign.
Understanding Egg's children and their marriages (including a marriage to a Baratheon) is essential for seeing how the Targaryen line, which was once so dominant, slowly fractured and lost its grip on the Seven Kingdoms, leading to the events that made Daenerys the last hope of the dynasty.
7. The Incestuous Web: A Full List of Key Sibling Marriages
The Targaryen practice of marrying brother to sister is the single most confusing and fascinating element of their family tree. It was done to preserve the "purity" of the Valyrian blood and their connection to dragons, but it also led to madness and civil war. Here are the most critical sibling unions:
- Aegon I married his sisters Visenya and Rhaenys.
- Jaehaerys I married his sister Alysanne.
- Viserys I was originally betrothed to his cousin, but his daughter Rhaenyra married her uncle, Daemon Targaryen.
- Aerys II (The Mad King) married his sister Rhaella, who was the mother of Rhaegar, Viserys, and Daenerys.
- Jon Snow (Aegon Targaryen) and Daenerys Targaryen, though unknowingly, continued the tradition as nephew and aunt.
This unbroken chain of consanguinity is the secret engine of the Targaryen story, explaining their unique traits, their power, and their eventual downfall. The family tree is less a tree and more a tangled, burning bush, rooted in the fire and blood of Valyria.
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