Rhaegar Targaryen: all you need to know about Jon Snow's father – and why he's so important to Game of Thrones
He's had very little screen time on the show, but few characters have had as big an impact on everything we've been watching
Alex Finnis 2 months Sunday May 12th 2019
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It's funny that the character who's had the biggest impact on the events of Game of Thrones has seen but a few seconds of screen time.
Without Rhaegar Targaryen, son of the Mad King Aerys II, older brother to Daenerys, none of this would have happened.
As Game of Thrones fans have theorised for the best part of the decade – double that for book readers who were there from the start – and was finally confirmed in the season 7 finale, Rhaegar is Jon Snow's real father.
Yes, that means Jon Snow, or Aegon VII Targaryen, is not Ned Stark's bastard, but the rightful heir to the damn Iron Throne.
Here's everything you need to know about Rhaegar, and what makes him so important to the story.
What's Rhaegar's backstory?
Rhaegar was the eldest son of King Aerys II and Queen Rhaella Targaryen, and was due to become ruler of the Seven Kingdoms after his father.
He was a fearsome warrior with a kind heart and a love of music. He didn't share any of his father's insanity and was expected to become an excellent king.
Rhaegar was the son of the Mad King, Aerys II Targaryen (Photo: HBO)
Tywin Lannister, King Aerys' hand, suggested Rhaegar should marry his daughter Cersei, but Aerys, angry at whispers of Tywin being the real power in Westeros, rejected him.
Instead, Aerys had Rhaegar marry Elia Martell, a Dornish princess and Oberyn's older sister.
They had two children together – a daughter, Rhaenys, and a son, Aegon.
How did he trigger Robert's Rebellion?
Everything started to hit the fan at the Tourney of Harrenhal, where Rhaegar was facing off against Ser Barristan Selmy in the final tilt.
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Rhaegar knocked Ser Barristan off his horse, and rode towards his wife, seemingly to hand her the victory wreath, as is tradition.
However, Rhaegar rode right past her, instead placing the wreath in Lyanna Stark's hands, naming her the tournament's Queen of Love and Beauty.
This wasn't just controversial because he was married, Lyanna was also betrothed to Robert Baratheon at the time. Unsurprisingly, he was not a happy man.
Around a year later it properly kicked off, when Rhaegar allegedly abducted Lyanna and took her to the Tower of Joy in Dorne.
Robert Baratheon killed Rhaegar at the Battle of the Trident (Photo: HBO)
Lyanna's eldest brother Brandon Stark's response was to head for King's Landing and demand of King Aerys that he bring back his sister and sentence Rhaegar to death.
However, Aerys imprisoned him, and also imprisoned their father, who had ridden to the capital to get his son back.
What happened next? Aerys released them right? Not quite. They call him the Mad King for a reason. He executed Rickard by burning him alive with wildfire, and tricked Brandon into strangling himself to death in trying to save him. Lovely stuff.
Next, Aerys told Jon Arryn to bring him Ned Stark and Robert Baratheon's head, but Arryn refused, and decided instead to revolt against the crown.
He joined up with Ned and Robert, they won the war, and the Targaryen dynasty was toast.
Relationship with Lyanna Stark
As we discovered in the final episode of season 7, Robert's Rebellion was actually built on a lie.
Rhaegar did not kidnap Lyanna, they were in love, and they ran away together to elope.
He had the High Septon annul his marriage to Elia, and officiate his union with Lyanna later that day. We got to see that very union on screen in the season 7 finale, thanks to one of Bran's visions.
Rhaegar and Lyanna secretly marry (Photo: HBO)
As we also know, Rhaegar and Lyanna had a child together, none other than Jon Snow, whose given name is actually Aegon VII Targaryen.
Lyanna told Ned her secret as she died in childbirth, and made her promise to protect him. This is why Ned brought him home to Winterfell as his "bastard", never even revealing the truth to his wife, Catelyn, despite knowing how it made him look.
What happened to Rhaegar in the end?
Rhaegar was killed by Robert himself at the Battle of the Trident. They spent hours duelling on the battlefield before Robert eventually caved in Rhaegar's breastplate with his hammer.
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It triggered the end of the war, as with Rhaegar dead the Targaryen allies felt they had nothing left to fight for. Many of them switched sides, most notably the Lannisters, who took King's Landing.
And we all know how King Aerys died. Jaime Lannister gained his infamous nickname by stabbing his ruler through the back, to prevent him from burning down the whole city.
Why will he be important in season 8?
Jon found out the truth about his parentage in the first episode of the final season – so he now knows that he's the true heir to the Iron Throne, as well as, awkwardly, Daenerys' nephew.
How will Jon take the news he may be meant to rule – something he has never desired? How will the Mother of Dragons react to the news that Westeros is not rightfully hers? And how will the pair of them choose to go on when they discover they are related?
These are all questions which hang over the final season. It won't be long until we discover the answers.
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