Who Is Cregan Stark in House of the Dragon & How Is He Related to Ned Stark?

One of the characters that were mentioned during the finale of season 1 of House of the Dragon was Cregan Stark. His name was mentioned when Rhaenyra Targaryen wanted to know who was loyal to her claim to the Iron Throne, as she wanted to send Prince Jacaerys to Winterfell to send her message to him. Of course, we know the Starks from Game of Thrones, which happens nearly 200 years after the events of House of the Dragon. So, who is Cregan Stark, and how is he related to Ned Stark?
Cregan Stark is the Lord of Winterfell and the head of House Stark during the time of House of the Dragon. He ended up forming a good relationship with Jacaerys Velaryon, as they became brothers and even promised to marry their children. Cregan became King Aegon III’s first Hand of the King.
We know for a fact that the Starks are some of the most honorable people in the history of the Seven Kingdoms, and Cregan proved to be just as honorable as his Game of Thrones descendants when he showcased his honor during the Dance of the Dragons. Now, with that said, let’s take a good look at who Cregan Stark is and how he is related to Ned Stark.
Who Is Cregan Stark In House Of The Dragon?
Episode 10 of season 1 of House of the Dragon allowed us to see the Black faction planning their next moves in response to the usurpation of the Green faction. However, the newly-crowned Queen Rhaenyra said that she wasn’t going to make the first move against the Greens before she could find out who her allies were and how loyal they were to her claim to the Iron Throne.
In that regard, she wanted to know who the Great Houses were loyal to. That was when she wanted to send letters to the Starks, Arryns, and Baratheons, as she wanted to know if they were going to uphold the oaths that their predecessors made when they swore their allegiance to Rhaenyra Targaryen as the heir to the Iron Throne.
Prince Jacaerys Velaryon put forward the suggestion to send the dragonriders to the lords because they travel faster than ravens. As such, Jace was sent to House Arryn of the Eyrie and to House Stark of Winterfell. Before Jace left, Rhaenyra told him that he wanted to send him to Winterfell because he was close to Lord Cregan Stark’s age. But who is Lord Cregan Stark?
Lord Cregan Stark was the Lord of Winterfell during the time of the Dance of the Dragons. That meant that he was the head of House Stark and was the one who was leading all of the northern houses in Winterfell. Because of that, he was also one of the most powerful men in all of the Seven Kingdoms.
Rhaenyra also said that the realm has never seen a Stark that has broken an oath, and that means that the Starks were already known to be the most honorable people during the time of House of the Dragon. In that regard, she was confident enough that Cregan Stark wasn’t going to break the oath of allegiance that his father swore to Rhaenyra nearly 20 years ago when she was named the heir to King Viserys’s crown.
What Happened To Cregan Stark In Fire & Blood?
When Prince Jacaerys reached Winterfell, he got along well with Cregan Stark, who was quick to honor the oath that his predecessor made during the time when Rhaenyra was named the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. Cregan and Jace also became good friends because the prince reminded the northerner so much of his younger brother, who died ten years earlier.
As such, Cregan and Jace formed an unbreakable bond that grew from friendship to brotherhood. They hunted, trained, and drank together. On top of that, they even swore an oath of brotherhood to one another. This brotherhood was highlighted by a pact that stated that Jace’s future daughter would be wed to Cregan’s son.
In that regard, the Starks became powerful allies of the Blacks, as Queen Rhaenyra was able to command a host of northmen who were older but were still quite strong in battle. These northmen were called the Winter Wolves, as they marched down south to die honorable deaths instead of dying due to a long winter.
After Rhaenyra had to flee King’s Landing due to the riots, Cregan Stark sent word that he would be sending a host of 10,000 men to march south and take the capital back. However, he also told her that this army would only march after the end of the last harvest before winter. In that regard, Cregan wasn’t able to help Rhaenyra when she was betrayed by her own men in Dragonstone. The queen died when King Aegon II fed her to his dragon.
Despite Rhaenyra’s death, Cregan Stark proved to be an honorable man by sending his promised army to the south to aid the Blacks in taking King’s Landing from King Aegon II. But the king was poisoned before the Black army could take King’s Landing.
When Cregan learned of the death of the king, he became one of the leaders that sat in the court of King’s Landing during the period of confusion when there was yet to be a king that would inherit the Iron Throne from Aegon II. He wanted to continue his march south to lay siege to the remaining settlements that the Greens controlled. However, he decided not to do so when the remaining Green forces expressed that they no longer wanted to continue the war.
In that regard, Cregan Stark was named Hand of the King by Aegon III when he was chosen to become the new Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. As such, in what was known as the Hour of the Wolf, Cregan decided to investigate the matters related to King Aegon II’s death because he believed that no king deserved to die through poisoning. And he held office from the foot of the Iron Throne instead of sitting on it, like all of the other Hands of the King did when the king was not around.
Cregan arrested the likes of Lord Corlys Velaryon and Lord Larys Strong because they conspired to kill the king, although the true assailant was never found. Corlys was given a pardon, but Larys and all of the other conspirators were executed. After their execution, Cregan Stark resigned from his position as Hand of the King and returned to the north. He held office for a single day.
After returning to Winterfell, Cregan continued to live for a very long time, as there are accounts that suggest that he lived to be around 100 years old. He ended up becoming one of the most revered Starks in history.
How Is Cregan Stark Related To Ned Stark?
Cregan Stark is one of the ancestors of Ned Stark, as it was through one of his sons that the Stark lineage continued. However, the connection between Cregan and Ned is already quite far. That’s because Cregan was born more than 150 years before Ned was born.
Despite the fact that Cregan Stark was a far ancestor of Ned Stark, the thing that they both shared in common was that, at one point, they were both the most powerful men in the Seven Kingdoms because they were both the Hands of the King and ruled the entire realm in place of the actual king. Cregan, who was the Hand of Aegon III, only held his position for one day. Meanwhile, Ned Stark was the Hand of the King to Robert Baratheon.