How Old Are Viserys and Daemon? What Is Brothers’ Age Difference?
House of the Dragon started by introducing us to two Targaryens that directly descended from the previous king, Jaehaerys Targaryen. We first saw Viserys, who was introduced as the king of the Seven Kingdoms, as it took no time for us to learn that he had a younger brother named Daemon. However, the years treated both of them differently by the time Viserys died, as he looked a lot older than his brother. So, how old are Viserys and Daemon?
Viserys was 52 by the time he died. Meanwhile, Daemon was still around 48 years old in the series when his brother died. That means that there are only four years between the two Targaryen brothers. Viserys only looks a lot older than Daemon because he is suffering from a dreadful disease.
At face value, it looks like Viserys is at least a decade older than Daemon, but that is not the case because only four years separate them from one another. The only reason why Daemon looks a lot younger is that he was healthy the entire time. We can’t say the same for Viserys, who had to rule an entire realm and was sick during the entire time. Now, let’s look at how old the brothers are.
How Old Was Viserys When He Died?
In the first episode of House of the Dragon, we learned that the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms was none other than King Viserys, who succeeded King Jaehaerys, the longest ruler in the history of the realm. At the time of his introduction, Viserys was already in his adult years as he already had a daughter in the form of Princess Rhaenyra, who was around 14 or 15 at that time. But let’s get to learn more about Viserys.
King Viserys was born in 77 AC or after Aegon’s Conquest. However, when he was born, Viserys was never going to become the king of the Seven Kingdoms because his father was only second behind Aemon Targaryen, who was King Jaehaerys’s oldest son. However, Aemon died early in his life, and that was when the role of the heir was passed on to Baelon, who was the second son of Jaehaerys.
But the problem was that Baelon never became king as well because he died before he inherited the Iron Throne from the Old King. As such, the succession was in shambles, as a council of lords had to choose who they wanted to be king. That was when Viserys was chosen over his cousin, Princess Rhaenys, who was the oldest child of the first heir, Aemon.
Viserys was 24 years old when he was chosen to be the heir of King Jaehaerys. Meanwhile, he became king at the age of 26 when the Old King finally died. At that time, he already had a daughter in Princess Rhaenyra, who was his only child because his wife, Queen Aemma, struggled to give birth to their other children.
By the time House of the Dragon began, it was already nine years since Viserys ascended to the Iron Throne. That means that he was already around his early 30s at the time. However, episode 1 was quick to show us that he got cut by the Iron Throne and started falling to a disease that began to rot his flesh slowly and steadily, despite all of the treatments that the maesters were giving him.
The years were unkind to Viserys because he started showing his age as the series progressed and when numerous time skips had to be introduced. By the time episode 6 began, more than ten years had passed since the series began. At that time, Viserys already looked incredibly old. Then, in episode 8, which takes place six years after episode 7, the king was already a walking corpse that no longer had his other eye and was skin and bones.
In that regard, Viserys quickly regressed in terms of his appearance and health ever since the series began. Otto Hightower, who was the Hand of the King, said it best when he said that Viserys was never going to live to become an old king as he was going to die earlier. And he was indeed correct because Viserys died at the end of episode 8.
King Viserys passed away on 129 AC at the age of 52. His death was what catapulted the entire realm into war, as Alicent believed that Prince Aegon was supposed to be the rightful ruler of the Seven Kingdoms instead of Princess Rhaenyra.
How Old Is Daemon?
Ever since Prince Daemon was introduced in episode 1 of House of the Dragon, he was already a rogue prince that showed his cruel side as he did things that could be borderline criminal. Nevertheless, his family accepted him, especially his niece, Princess Rhaenyra, who always saw him in a different light.
Prince Daemon was born the second son of Prince Baelon, and that means that he is the younger brother of King Viserys. He was born on 81 AC and was around his early 30s when the series began. Since then, he struggled to find his place in the Seven Kingdoms because he didn’t have a specific role in the realm. He was removed as the commander of the City Watch, was disinherited from the Iron Throne, and could not find peace in King’s Landing.
It was only when Prince Daemon killed his first wife and married Lady Laena Velaryon that he was able to feel some semblance of happiness. Still, something was missing. When Laena died, he married Princess Rhaenyra, and he was now able to find his place in the Seven Kingdoms. At that time, Daemon was around 42 years old.
Six years went by since Daemon and Rhaenyra married. In those six years, their marriage bore fruit as he was able to have two pure-blooded Targaryen children with Rhaenyra. And at the time of his brother’s death at the end of episode 8, Daemon Targaryen was already around 48.
Daemon didn’t have to wait too long to join his brother in death. In 130 AC, one year after Viserys died, Daemon perished in the Battle Above the Gods Eye as he fought his nephew, Aemond Targaryen, to death. He was 49 years old at the time of his passing.
What Is The Age Difference Between Viserys And Daemon?
Considering that Viserys was born on 77 AC and that Daemon was born on 81 AC, there were only four years that separated the two brothers. However, it was clear that Viserys always looked a lot older than Daemon because of the fact that he was the king and that he was suffering from a disease that resembled leprosy.
The fact is that the responsibility of being king was one that stressed Viserys out as he quickly aged. On top of that, he was also suffering from a disease that affected his skin and nerves, as the illness was causing his body to rot slowly but steadily. That’s why he looked like he was 90 by the time he died, even though he was only 52 years old.
In contrast, Daemon did have a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders and wasn’t suffering from a mysterious disease. He was also a warrior that had trained himself to be physically fit for any fight. That is why Daemon also looks a lot younger than his 48 years would suggest.
