Why Was the Wedding Between Rhaenyra and Laenor Rushed?

At the end of episode 4 of House of the Dragon, an angry King Viserys Targaryen told his daughter to end her quest for a husband so that she could marry Ser Laenor Velaryon and put an end to the rumors regarding her and Daemon and repair the damaged relationship between the Targaryens and the Velaryons. Of course, in episode 5, we saw a banquet in honor of the betrothal of Rhaenyra to Laenor, as it was supposed to only be the start of a week of celebration. However, at the end of the episode, Rhaenyra and Laenor are married. So, why was the wedding between Rhaenyra and Laenor rushed?

The wedding between Rhaenyra and Laenor was likely rushed to avoid any more violence, problems, and other similar instances that would jeopardize the betrothal of the two families. After all, it was important for Viserys that Rhaenyra would marry Laenor because of the many problems that she brought.

It was unusual for Rhaenyra and Laenor to have a wedding that was rushed, considering that the royal family of the Seven Kingdoms tends to make weddings grand celebrations full of parties and tournaments. Of course, there were a lot of underlying circumstances regarding this marriage. So, with that said, let’s look at the reason why the wedding between Rhaenyra and Laenor was rushed.

Did Rhaenyra Marry Laenor?

Ever since the third episode of House of the Dragon, one of the major topics that the series focused on was Rhaenyra’s future husband. As a princess of House Targaryen and the heir to the Iron Throne, it was her duty to marry and provide an heir so that the Targaryen dynasty would continue for generations to come. And she didn’t like the idea that she was being sold to lords that she didn’t like because she wanted to have the freedom to marry a person that she loved.

Of course, King Viserys initially allowed Princess Rhaenyra to entertain many suitors in the hopes that she could find a match for herself. Nevertheless, this never worked out for her because she didn’t like any of the lords and knights that tried to offer what they could to her. And there was also the fact that she was seemingly attracted to her own uncle Daemon Targaryen and to her sworn protector Ser Criston Cole. 

While Rhaenyra had a passionate night when they were out in King’s Landing, there was no sexual encounter between them. It was only until Rhaenyra capped her night off by bedding Ser Criston that she was finally able to lose her maidenhood. And this became a topic of the issue in the family because Otto Hightower had spies that reported that she and Daemon were seen together in a pleasure house.

An angry King Viserys put an end to Rhaenyra’s freedom by telling her that she should fulfill her duties by marrying Ser Laenor Velaryon in an attempt to silence the rumors regarding her and Daemon and so that the two houses could now repair their damaged relationship with one another.

Episode 5 began with King Viserys and Princess Rhaenyra traveling to Driftmark to meet Lord Corlys Velaryon. It was there that Viserys and Corlys were able to come to an agreement regarding the betrothal of their children. Meanwhile, both Rhaenyra and Laenor had an agreement of their own, and it was for them to agree to fulfill their marital duties while having their own affairs with the people that they preferred to be with. Of course, Laenor preferred to be with men, as he had a lover in the form of Ser Joffrey Lonmouth.

Then again, during the betrothal banquet held to celebrate the upcoming wedding between Rhaenyra and Laenor, a fight broke out. It seemed that Ser Criston Cole, who was Rhaenyra’s scored lover, had seemingly snapped when Ser Joffrey told him something about his rumored relationship with the princess. As such, Criston ended up beating Joffrey to a bloody pulp until Laenor’s lover’s head had been bashed in.

Laenor was visibly devastated by what he saw, as it was clear that he truly had deep feelings for his lover. It didn’t seem like the right time for him to be marrying someone, considering that he wasn’t in the right place in terms of his emotions. So, did Rhaenyra really marry Laenor?

In what was one of the most surprising moments in the episode, it was revealed at the end that the wedding between Rhaenyra and Laenor pushed through. But it was a rushed wedding that happened right after the banquet instead of right after the week. The two said their vows to one another in front of their respective families, all while Joffrey’s blood was still fresh on the floor.

Why Was The Wedding Between Rhaenyra And Laenor Rushed?

When King Viserys greeted the different lords, ladies, and knights that were in attendance during the banquet to celebrate the betrothal of Rhaenyra and Laenor, he mentioned that this was only the start of a week’s worth of celebration because there were more festivities and tournaments on the way. And at the end of the week, there was going to be a grand wedding between Rhaenyra and Laenor to unite the two most powerful houses in the Seven Kingdoms.

But we also mentioned the fact that the wedding seemed to have been rushed as they were married right after the entire violent affair involving Ser Criston and Ser Joffrey. So, why was the wedding between Rhaenyra and Laenor rushed?

It is likely that the wedding was rushed because King Viserys was already tired of all of the drama surrounding his daughter. He must have realized or, at the very least, suspected that the fight between Ser Criston and Ser Joffrey was the result of his daughter’s past actions. On top of that, he must have also realized that this fight wasn’t going to be the last violent event that would happen had the entire celebration been stretched to a full week.

Of course, King Viserys had his own problems to deal with as well. On top of the fact that he had grown tired of the problems surrounding his daughter, he also had to deal with the fact that he needed to reconcile the Targaryens and the Velaryons. Had there been more violence and had the celebration been stretched, the chances of the wedding happening were slim, especially with Laenor still dealing with the death of his lover. And we all know that Viserys himself knows that he doesn’t have long to live and that he could die at any given moment, as evidenced by the fact that he collapses at the end of the wedding.

So, with that said, the only logical step was for him to rush the entire wedding between Rhaenyra and Laenor so that they could get things over with. He didn’t have the energy or the patience to deal with any more drama regarding his daughter. And the sooner that Rhaenyra got married, the sooner it was for him to finally end the problems that came with her.