Even though House of the Dragon focuses on the Targaryen family and the many different problems that they go through to stay in power, we also know that the series also includes House Hightower, which is the same house as Queen Alicent and Ser Otto, who are two of the most powerful people in the series. Then again, we didn’t hear a lot from House Hightower during the events of Game of Thrones. So, who are the members of House Hightower, and where are they in Game of Thrones?
Alicent and Otto are the two most prominent Hightowers in House of the Dragon. However, Hobert Hightower sits as the Lord of Hightower in Oldtown. But, during the events of Game of Thrones, House Hightower was pledged to House Tyrell. Margaery Tyrell’s mother was actually a Hightower.
It might be true that House Hightower isn’t the most prominent house during the time of Game of Thrones. But thanks to the machinations of Ser Otto in House of the Dragon, the Hightowers became quite powerful and were more powerful than most of the houses in Westeros. In that regard, let’s talk more about the members of House Hightower and what happened to the family during the time of Game of Thrones.
Who Are The Members Of House Hightower?
There is no doubt that House of the Dragon focuses so much on House Targaryen and the events surrounding the entire family before and during the Dance of the Dragons. But it is also true that there are also other figures that contributed to the rise of the Targaryen civil war, as they wouldn’t have gone to war had it not been for these people. Of course, the two culprits for escalating the problems within House Targaryen were the father and daughter duo of Otto Hightower and Alicent Hightower.
Otto Hightower served as Hand of the King during the earlier part of King Viserys’s reign but ended up getting fired because he was pushing his own personal agenda of putting Aegon on the throne and forcing the king to disinherit Rhaenyra due to the fact that he believes that the realm will tear itself apart if a woman were to sit on the Iron Throne. However, he eventually earned his place back as Hand of the King upon the death of Lord Lyonel Strong.
On the other hand, Alicent Hightower is the daughter of Otto and was a young girl that lived in court together with her father. Upon the death of Queen Aemma Arryn, Otto installed Alicent at the side of King Viserys to keep him company during his time of grief. While the king always loved his late wife, having Alicent by his side convinced him that he wanted to marry her. As such, Alicent became the mother of Aegon, Helaena, and Aemond, who were all key figures during the Dance of the Dragons.
But while we know that the two Hightowers are quite important in the events of House of the Dragon, the thing is that there are also other Hightowers in the Seven Kingdoms. In fact, Otto and Alicent aren’t even part of the main ruling branch of the Hightowers, as Otto is actually just the second son.
The Hightowers are the rulers of the Hightower, which is situated in Oldtown, which used to be the biggest city in all of the Seven Kingdoms before the construction of King’s Landing after Aegon’s Conquest. Oldtown is also one of the oldest cities in Westeros, and it is that very reason why the Hightowers are so respected throughout the entire realm, as this house is one of the oldest houses throughout the entire continent as well.
While we all know that Otto is the one seated by the side of King Viserys as the second-most powerful man in the Seven Kingdoms, he isn’t the lord of Hightower and Oldtown. Instead, the one who is seated in the seat of power of the Hightower is his brother, Hobert Hightower, who is the eldest among the Hightower siblings.
However, in the book, the title of lord of Hightower is passed down to Lord Hightower’s son Ormund, who was the one who commanded the Hightower army during the time of the Dance of the Dragons. We are yet to meet Ormund in the series, but we have seen his father.
In the book, there are also other members of the Hightower family. Ser Gwayne Hightower is second-in-command in the City Watch of King’s Landing. There were also other Hightower knights that marched alongside Ormund during the Dance of the Dragons as he commanded the Green army.
All that said, the Hightowers were quite prominent during the time of the Dance of the Dragons and even before the events of the civil war. This was due in large part to the fact that the family has been around for thousands of years and is the ruler of one of the oldest big cities in Westeros. However, it was also the fact that Otto Hightower and Alicent Hightower were in high positions close to the Targaryens that allowed House Hightower to become even more powerful.
Where Is House Hightower In Game Of Thrones?
While we do know that House Hightower was one of the non-Valyrian houses that were quite prominent during the era of House of the Dragon, the thing that we did notice in Game of Thrones was the fact that this family was seemingly absent, as no one actually mentioned them a lot.
However, the Hightowers were still around during the time of Game of Thrones as they did not die off and went extinct. They still ruled Oldtown but were not one of the Great Houses that ruled the different kingdoms of Westeros. Instead, the Hightowers were pledged to the Tyrells of Highgarden.
During the time of Game of Thrones, the one ruling Oldtown was Lord Leyton Hightower, whose armies fought for Renly Baratheon during the War of the Five Kings. The Hightowers also ended up joining the Tyrells when they pledged their allegiance to the Lannisters after Renly’s death. Then, in the past, the Hightowers were one of the few families that stayed loyal to King Aerys during Robert’s rebellion. In fact, the one sitting as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard was Gerold Hightower, who died together with Ser Arthur Dayne in the Tower of Joy in Dorne when Ned Stark and his northmen attacked them.
Meanwhile, during the Baratheon-Lannister reign, the Hightowers remained loyal to the Tyrells of Highgarden due to the fact that Margaery Tyrell’s mother was actually a Hightower named Alerie. Even Ser Jorah Mormont was married to a Hightower named Lynesse Hightower.
So, even though the Hightowers weren’t as prominent and as politically close to the crown as they were during the time of the Dance of the Dragons, they were still around during the events of Game of Thrones. In fact, the books even describe the Hightowers as just as rich as the Lannisters and have armies that outnumber the Tyrells. It’s just that the Hightowers have decided to take a more peaceful life that kept them out of court.
