How Many Children Do Viserys and Alicent Have? (& Who Are They)
Ever since the first episode of House of the Dragon, one of the things that we learned from Viserys is the fact that he wants as many heirs as possible because he believes that it is the duty of the king to produce heirs that will strengthen the Targaryen dynasty for generations to come. Of course, when he got married to Alicent Hightower, it didn’t take too long for him to produce more heirs than he could count. So, how many children do Viserys and Alicent have?
In House of the Dragon, Viserys and Alicent currently have three children. These are Aegon II, Aemond, and Helaena. However, in the book, they have a fourth child named Daeron, who is the youngest of Viserys’s children. It doesn’t seem like Daeron will be appearing in House of the Dragon.
While Viserys had trouble producing heirs with Aemma Arryn, that wasn’t the case with Alicent Hightower, as they were able to have a lot of children. In that regard, these children will play important roles in the overall narrative of House of the Dragon, especially during the time of the Dance of the Dragons. Now, let’s get to know more about the children of Viserys and Alicent.
How many Children Do Viserys And Alicent Have?
Back in the first episode of House of the Dragon, King Viserys Targaryen was expecting a second child from Queen Aemma Arryn, who struggled to produce heirs. Aemma experienced many failed childbirths and pregnancies in the past, as she believed that this was the final time that she would have a child with Viserys due to how tired her body was. Then again, she died during childbirth because Viserys chose to save the baby, who died shortly after his mother died.
In that regard, it was clear that the union between Viserys and Aemma was a failure due to the fact that it produced only one child—Princess Rhaenyra. It was shortly after the queen died that Viserys explained to Rhaenyra the importance of producing heirs, as House Targaryen needs to remain strong and united for generations to come so that Westeros would be ready for the dangers that would soon arrive from the north. That is why Viserys was adamant about producing more heirs, and he did so after he got married to Alicent Hightower, who became the new queen consort.
While Viserys struggled to have children with Aemma, that was not the case with Alicent. The younger queen consort, due to her youth, was in the prime of her life as far as producing children was concerned, as she was made into a baby-making machine by the king. And that fact was probably one of the reasons why Alicent was quite unhappy with her life and was resentful of the fact that Rhaenyra was able to enjoy her youth.
Nevertheless, both Viserys and Alicent produced children that the king was proud of because he could now contribute to the Targaryen dynasty (but didn’t think that his children would help cause its end). So, how many children do Viserys and Alicent have?
After the time skip between episodes 5 and 6, we were able to meet the three Targaryen children born to Viserys and Alicent. In that regard, in House of the Dragon, they have three children (two boys and one girl). However, in the book, they were able to produce four children.
But, considering that the fourth child came just four years after their third child and that this child should have been revealed in the series by now, it does seem like Viserys and Alicent only have three children in the series. But this could still change, depending on how the storyline progresses, as the series may yet reveal the fourth child. Still, based on the casting, it appears that Viserys and Alicent only have three children in House of the Dragon, as the series may have decided to cut the fourth child out of the story.
Who Are The Children Of Viserys And Alicent?
Now that we have mentioned that Viserys and Alicent have three children in House of the Dragon and four children in the book, let’s get to meet all of these children one by one.
Aegon II
Aegon II is the eldest of the children born to Viserys and Alicent and is the firstborn son of the king. He is a headstrong yet reckless boy who moves without even thinking about whether or not he is making the right decision. As such, he is often described to be very impatient as he doesn’t want to stop to reconsider his decisions. He is the most important child born to Viserys and Alicent because the Dance of the Dragons is a war between him and Rhaenyra for the Iron Throne.
Helaena
Helaena is the second child born to Viserys and Alicent and is their only daughter. In the series, she is described to be quite aloof and interested in insects, on top of the fact that she may have the gift of visions that Viserys always dreamed of having. However, in the book, Helaena was described to be a happy woman that the smallfolk loved. She ends up getting married to her older brother, Aegon II but ends up getting captured by Rhaenyra after she takes King’s Landing in the book.
Aemond
Aemond is the second son of Viserys and Alicent and is the best swordsman and dragonrider out of all of their children. Initially without a dragon, he was able to claim Vhagar as his own after Laena Velaryon’s death. As such, he became the dragonrider of the largest and strongest dragon in the Seven Kingdoms and was eventually able to become the greatest asset of the Greens during the Dance of the Dragons. In the end, however, Aemond died at the hands of Daemon Targaryen in an epic battle called the Battle Above the Gods Eye.
Daeron
Daeron is the fourth child of Viserys and Alicent and the book but may not end up getting a live-action adaptation in House of the Dragon. Like his brothers, he ended up becoming a dragonrider and was able to claim the dragon named Tessarion. However, he also loses his life during the Dance of the Dragons due to unknown means that George RR Martin never cared to expound.
The fact that Daeron was an unremarkable and uninteresting character in the storyline of the book is probably the reason why he may not appear in House of the Dragon. In fact, the storyline can easily progress without him in the series as he didn’t have a lot of important parts in the greater narrative.
