Who is Rhaegar Targaryen, and why does he matter?

Despite playing what many book-readers would consider the most pivotal role in recent Westerosi history, Rhaegar Targaryen remains a mostly unknown quantity for show-watchers. Even after Rhaegar’s death on the end of Robert Baratheon’s hammer at the Trident, his actions reverberate down through the years, influencing the lives of our favorite Houses. For those who are only fans of the show, Rhaegar Targaryen’s identity and actions are murky at best, as he crops up in the show only when mentioned by others, usually by Robert Baratheon or Rhaegar’s younger sister Daenerys Targaryen, or our Mother of Dragons. With a little help from the books, let’s take a deeper look in life of one of Westeros’ most controversial figures.

There are no outright SPOILERS here, but there are clues from the books that have not been presented on the show. You have been warned.

Rhaegar was born during the Tragedy at Sumerhall, the first born son of the future Mad King, Aerys Targaryen and his sister-wife Rhaella Targaryen. Sumerhall was exactly what it sounds like: a summer vacation spot for the Targaryen royal family. The details of what occurred at Summerhall are sketchy, but the rumor is that the Targaryens were trying to hatch dragon eggs through some sort of magical ritual that involved a lot of fire. Whatever they were doing, it went horribly wrong. Most of Summerhall burned to the ground and took several Targaryen family members with it. It was during this event that Rhaegar was born.

From a young age, Rhaegar was very bookish, leading many to joke his mother Rhaella had surely eaten books while Rhaegar was in the womb. Rhaegar was successful at anything he tried, be it singing, politics, or even warfare, although he didn’t have much in the way of martial inclinations. However, Rhaegar’s love of books would eventually lead him down the path of the warrior. After reading an unknown tome, Rhaegar marched up to the Red Keep’s master at arms and said, “I will require a sword and armor. It seems I must be a warrior.”

From that point on, Rhaegar was one of the most respected warriors in all of the Seven Kingdoms, rarely losing a tournament. Notable warriors such as Barristan Selmy and Jaime Lannister remember Rhaegar’s martial skills with a mix of awe and respect. But while Rhaegar had Lebron James-level talent for warfare, Rhaegar always preferred a book and his silver-stringed harp to a shield and sword.

Rhaegar was the rare lord to be almost universally loved by commoner and highborn alike. As told by Barristan Selmy to Daenerys, Rhaegar enjoyed spending time with the commoners, and gave freely to them on more than one occasion. Rhaegar was characterized by Ser Barristan as being, above all, dutiful, whether it was to his family or to the realm.

Rhaegar was the first born son of the Mad King Aerys Targaryen, and therefore heir to the Iron Throne. Perpetuating the family line is always of the utmost importance in Westeros, and while typically Targaryens married within the family, there were no Targaryens of age for Rhaegar to marry. (Later, Viserys would berate Dany for not being born sooner, since if she had Rhaegar could have had a proper Targaryen bride.) Tywin Lannister had hoped to marry his daughter Cersei to Rhaegar, but Aerys refused the offer, marrying Rhaegar instead to Elia Martell of Dorne (the older sister of Prince Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper).

The marriage to Elia was an arranged one, and while there might not have been love, there was happiness. By this point in time, the relationship between Rhaegar and his father Aerys had become so strained that Rhaegar lived with his new wife on Dragonstone, somewhere he didn’t have to interact with Aerys on a day-to-day basis. Rhaegar did eventually bring his family back to King’s Landing after the birth of his first child, a daughter named Rhaenys.

Elia gave Rhaegar a son as well, Aegon, but was advised that a third child would likely result in Elia’s death. Their children were later murdered by the Mountain, Ser Gregor Clegane, during the sack of King’s Landing, an event toward the end of Robert’s Rebellion. “You raped her! You murdered her! You killed her children!” That was Rhaegar’s wife, Elia, and her children that Oberyn was shouting about when he fought Clegane in Season 4’s “The Mountain and the Viper.” In a sad twist of fate, it was Rhaegar who had knighted Ser Gregor years before this.

Backing up to before the start of Robert’s Rebellion, Aerys was beginning to descend into full blown madness. During this time, there was a great tournament held at Harrenhal, the one mentioned by Littlefinger to Sansa in the crypts of Winterfell in Season 5’s “Sons of the Harpy.” Fan theory has it that the tournament was merely a pretext for Rhaegar to meet with the lords of Westeros to discuss the removal of his father from the throne, since at this point the king’s madness had advanced and his poor decision-making skills were hurting the country.

Either way, Rhaegar eventually triumphed at the tournament, and was therefore given the honor of crowning a woman from the audience as “The Queen of Love and Beauty.” This was a purely ceremonial title, but despite his wife Elia being present, Rhaegar crowned Lyanna Stark, to the silent shock of all the great lords present. As Littlefinger said, it was “the moment when all the smiles died.”

We are never told exactly why Rhaegar did this, although most present assumed it was because he was simply taken by Lyanna’s beauty. And while this moment was certainly embarrassing and awkward for all involved, it was, by and large, harmless. What came next was anything but, as shortly after the tournament, Rhaegar kidnapped Lyanna Stark, and spirited her away to parts unknown.

Shortly afterward, Rickard and Brandon Stark were murdered by King Aerys. These events kicked off Robert’s Rebellion, which found Houses Arryn and Tully joining with Houses Baratheon and Stark in an attempt to overthrow House Targaryen. Despite an open rebellion against his family in full swing, Prince Rhaegar disappeared with Lyanna for close to nine months, taking her to the Tower of Joy in Dorne.

Eventually Rhaegar came out of hiding to lead an army of Targaryen loyalists against the surprisingly successful rebels, and met his doom in the shallow waters of the Ruby Ford of the Trident at the hands of Robert Baratheon. After Rhaegar’s death, victory for the rebels was all but inevitable. It signaled the beginning of the end for House Targaryen’s three-hundred year dominion of Westeros.

So why would Rhaegar, a man beloved and respected by all, suddenly choose to “rape and murder” another man’s intended, as Sansa put in in the Winterfell crypts? As viewers, we are meant to have the same skeptical reaction to Sansa’s remark as Littlefinger does. And like Littlefinger, while we don’t know exactly what happened, we are supposed to consider that Rhaegar raping and murdering Lyanna does not line up with Rhaegar’s past actions and reputation.

Rhaegar was no fool. He carried out the kidnapping knowing full well it could lead to his death, or at the very least that it could have dire consequences for his House. As the premiere for Game of Thrones Season 6 draws near, one of the biggest mysteries in Westerosi history seems likely to be revealed to both book and show fans alike. Like Littlefinger, we should be skeptical and realize that Rhaegar’s story is not as simple as we have been led to believe.

Via http://winteriscoming.net/2016/02/10/who-is-rhaegar-targaryen-and-why-does-he-matter/