The “Game of Thrones” prequel series “House of the Dragon” on HBO, which is based on the fantasy novel “Fire and Blood,” was co-created by fantasy novelist George R.R. Martin.
In George R.R. Martin’s “Fire and Blood,” the Targaryen dynasty, whose dominance in Westeros started when Aegon the Conqueror and his dragon-riding family founded the Iron Throne as a new seat of power, is fictionalised in history.
The day of Aegon’s coronation served as a reset date for the years in George R. R. Martin’s books, with events occurring either B.C. (Before Conquest) or A.C. (After Conquest).
The original timeframe of the novel is somewhat altered by the TV adaptation, which also affects the characters’ ages and the chain of events leading to a period of unrest under Targaryen rule.
The family dynamics and character ageing in the programme are broken down in the timeframe that follows. As season one of “House of the Dragon” jumps ahead in time, we’ll be adding new events to this page every week.
Events indicated by an asterisk (*) have been estimated based on show context cues.
*97 A.C. — Rhaenyra Targaryen is born to future queen Aemma.
We’re very confident “House of the Dragon” stayed with the birth year of 97 A.C. from Martin’s novels to establish Rhaenyra as 14 years old at the start of the episode.
The sole surviving child of Aemma and Viserys was Rhaenyra. Every successive pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage or stillbirth, despite her mother’s repeated attempts to conceive.
Old King Jaehaerys convenes a Great Council in the year 101 A.C. to select who would succeed to the Iron Throne.
Princess Rhaenyra, who is portrayed in this sequence by actress Emma D’Arcy, explains the events leading up to her immediate family’s dominance over Westeros in the chilly opening of “House of the Dragon.”
She adds that while King Jaehaerys had presided over the realm’s tranquillity for 60 years, his eldest trueborn sons, Aemon and Baelon, had sadly passed away in the previous ten years. He had no direct heirs after that.
Viserys and Rhaenys were considered to be the two most likely successors of King Jaehaerys on the Iron Throne.
Jaheherys convened the Great Council to forestall a conflict over his succession because, as Rhaenyra’s voiceover said, “he realised the stark truth: The only thing that could take down the House of the Dragon was itself.”
Viserys (who was the son of Baelon, the younger son of Jaehaerys), was selected by the council as the successor to the kingdom.
Aemma gives birth to a stillborn child shortly after Viserys is designated the Iron Throne’s heir in the year 101 A.C.
When Viserys is selected as the successor to the Iron Throne in the scene, the programme doesn’t make it clear whose child Aemma is expecting. We do, however, know that she claims to have lost five pregnancies in the previous ten years when the programme fast-forwards by around ten years.
Jaehaerys passes away in 103 A.C., and his grandson Viserys succeeds him as king.
King Jaehaerys in “Fire and Blood” passes away in 103 A.C., just two years after convening the council to choose a successor.
In the same year, King Viserys is crowned and takes the throne of the Iron Throne. Given that his sole kid is a 5-year-old daughter, pressure is on him to have another heir.
Queen Aemma dies while giving birth in the year 112 A.C., and her infant Baelon also passes away that day.
The “House of the Dragon” pilot’s opening scene is followed by a time leap to nine years after King Viserys’ coronation, according to the programme.
That indicates that Aemma’s death and Viserys’ formal recognition of Rhaenyra as his designated successor both occur about 112 A.C.
According to “House of the Dragon” actors Milly Alcock and Emily Carey (who portray young Rhaenyra and Alicent, respectively), both of their characters reach the age of 14 in the first episode of the show, which corresponds to their respective birthdates in the latter part of the first century A.C.
Six months after Aemma’s death, in 113 A.C., King Viserys made the decision to remarry.
King Viserys picked Alicent as his second bride when she was about 14 or 15.
The daughter of Princess Rhaenys and Lord Corlys Velaryon had been the target of the Small Council’s pressure to betroth Viserys to his young second cousin.
Laena Velaryon, a 12-year-old who had not yet entered puberty, was present.
Viserys came to the conclusion that the young lady who had been comforting him through his sorrow at the loss of his wife and children was a better fit.
Viserys proclaimed his plan to wed Alicent three years before, and now the two are married and expecting their second child.
Three years have gone since Prince Daemon left King’s Landing and joined forces with Lord Corlys to battle in the Stepstones, King Viserys says in episode three.
Thus, Alicent is currently around the age of 18, whereas Rhaenyra is 17 years old (and soon-to-be 18 herself).
In this episode, Alicent’s eldest kid, Aegon II, becomes two years old, and it seems that Alicent will soon give birth to her second child. That would indicate that Viserys conceived of her only three years after their marriage.