We never considered comparing the British Royal Family with HBO’s Game of Thrones and the Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon. But here we are. A while ago, we mentioned an article by The Times that compared Prince Harry to Matt Smith’s House of the Dragon character, Daemon Targaryen. This has nothing to do with Matt Smith playing a young Prince Philip during the first two Seasons of The Crown.
Before anyone questions why this post has a spoiler warning, House of the Dragon will be mentioned. Also, this may adapt to the main Game of Thrones for anyone (like us) who hasn’t seen either series.
While this might seem like an odd article to compare reality with fiction, we thought we’d have some fun. After all, royalty is like one big game of chess. George RR Martin’s world of Westeros is no different, as there are powerplays that result in wars, marriages, and alliances. Now, during our comparisons, we might get characters and their ‘accurate comparisons’ wrong as we’re not well-versed in GoT lore. However, we do know enough to make observations.
A (Brief) Westeros And Reality History Lesson
The Iron throne was commissioned by Aegon the Conqueror, the first of many Targaryen kings when he conquered six of the seven kingdoms of Westeros. Moreover, this is comparable to the English monarchy. It began as far back as the seventh century when there were seven kingdoms, which Angelo-Saxon kings ruled.
By the time of House of the Dragon, House Targaryen had already seen through five kings:
- Aegon I
- Aenys I
- Maegor
- Jaehaerys I
- Viserys I
No woman had ever sat on the Iron Throne. This was due to the sexist society where females were there to produce heirs. This was stated by Queen Aemma to her daughter, Rhaenyra, in the premiere of House of the Dragon. In reality, women have sat on the English throne, but it has been uncommon throughout history, though it is not rare, and this does NOT include consorts.
Known English female monarchs (Queen Regnants) as per Evening Standard include:
- Queen Mary I
- Queen Elizabeth I
- Queen Anne
- Queen Victoria
- Queen Elizabeth II
The Line Of Succession
The line of succession for the Iron throne was prominently male until King Viserys named his only surviving child and daughter with Aemma, Princess Rhaenyra, as his heir. This pushed his brother, Prince Daemon, down the line of succession.
Like the real-life Prince Harry, Daemon was on a path to nowhere and was known as ‘the Rogue Prince.’ Initially, he’s going to brothels, competing in jousts and getting into trouble. He even kisses his niece, which involves what Game of Thrones has always had; incest. More on that later.
Harry did very similar things when he was younger. He was caught in compromising positions in pap shots in Las Vegas. He was seen being racist towards fellow service members in the army. There’s a whole list.
There is even a point where Viserys disowns Daemon before welcoming him back. At the moment, Harry is on the outs with his family. This is due to his backstabbing and criticism of his family being aired on television. The self-exiled second son of King Charles III hasn’t gotten forgiveness. Daemon earned it and married his niece and Viserys’ daughter, Rhaenyra, fathering two of her five children.
Backstabbing And Powerplays
The world of Game of Thrones has always been about backstabbing and powerplays. Once upon a time, the British Royals were into this too. Look at what happened with Henry VIII and all the wives he had.
Many of Henry VIII’s wives had to vie for his attention, resulting in backstabbing and powerplays. So, in House of the Dragon, Alicent Hightower was encouraged by her father to seduce Viserys and become his second wife. The reason? He wanted his descendants on the Iron Throne rather than Rhaenyra, the true heir. This was bought to Alicent’s attention in the second-last episode of Season 1. She learns that her supporters on the Small Council were plotting to get her son, Aegon, on the throne without her knowledge.
Prince Andrew And Meghan Markle’s Powerplays
Returning to the British Royal family, Prince Andrew may have attempted to force his mother, The Queen’s hand. There was a rumour that Randy Andy tried to become Prince William’s regent. This happened after Princess Diana died, and the public intensely disliked Charles.
Prince William was only fifteen at the time. The public would’ve preferred the now-Prince of Wales to be heir to the throne rather than his father. Mind you; The Queen was still healthy in 1997. Now, we don’t know how true the rumour is.
Another power play we should mention is Meghan Markle, who believed she could bulldoze into the monarchy and change it. However, she failed to understand that there was a pecking order. Multiple people have said that Meghan thought she, Catherine, and Camilla were equal.
However, Camilla and Catherine were elevated when the Queen died, and Meghan wasn’t. So Camilla became the Queen Consort, and Catherine became the Princess of Wales. Meghan remained the Duchess of Sussex. That must annoy her, as it does Andrew that he didn’t get to be William’s regent.
The Sussexes Are Backstabbing The British Royal Family
Going onto the backstabbing within the British Royal family, we cannot avoid the topic of the Sussexes. We’ll keep this bit short, but Harry and Meghan criticising the royals out of pettiness is nothing new. They wear microphones in the UK to catch the royals unaware. However, the family isn’t stupid and has pulled rank by watching what they say or not talking to the pair.
One massive example of Harry backstabbing his father and brother is when he fed private conversations after Oprah with Meghan and Harry to Gayle King. Also, the ungratefulness of the Sussexes stems from their claims that the institution was horrible and refused to help them. One of the latest attacks is something Harry said at an event where he said that he had never heard the word “therapy” before going to the US.
He spent a decade in the army, where he had to be mentally sound, and he had been in counselling for like seven years to deal with his mother’s death. Did he forget that he served as a patron to multiple mental health charities and helped launch Heads Together with William and Catherine? This goes up there with crediting Meghan for getting him helped with his mental health when William did this, which he has stated on camera. We could go on.
Game Of Thrones And House Of The Dragon Backstabbing
As stated earlier, Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are notorious for their violence, sex scenes and incest. Powerplays often play into this, but the backstabbing is unreal in this franchise. So one classic example is when Jon Snow was backstabbed by his men during the original show. He was resurrected in the episode that succeeded his death; how we don’t know as we haven’t watched it.
Another example comes from House of the Dragon. In the early episodes of Season 1, Alicent and Rhaenyra were once close friends who grew up together. However, the friendship is destroyed after Otto tells his daughter to seduce the king and become his second wife. Many years later, the two women are on opposite sides of the conflict while Viserys is rotting away due to ill health.
Alicent is very by-the-book, where she had to marry the king and produce heirs. Rhaenyra, despite being the heir to the throne or the Princess of Dragonstone (the Westeros version of the Prince of Wales title), could do what she wanted. She was married twice; once to Laenor Velaryon and produced three illegitimate heirs with Harwin Strong and to her uncle Daemon, with whom she had two sons with a third child incoming. One of her sons with Daemon is named Aegon, the same name as Alicent’s eldest son with Viserys. But there’s a ton more to it. Alicent was envious of Rhaenyra’s freedom and betrayed her by marrying her father.
Incest
Once upon a time, the British royal family engaged in incest to keep their family lines pure. However, we do need to address something before we continue. Marrying a distant relative is not considered incest today as long as it is not closely related. For example, Prince William and his wife Catherine, believe it or not, are distantly related. They’re like 11th or 12th cousins. The Queen and Prince Philip were distantly related as well. The further back to the relationship, the less it’s considered incest.
However, in Westeros, author and executive producer of House of the Dragon, George RR Martin likes to iterate that incest is normal. For example, Jon Snow sleeps with his biological aunt, Daenerys, utterly unaware of their blood relationship at the time of their affair. But, then, we got to their ancestors, Rhaenyra and Daemon, who are niece and uncle. Also, Aegon I was married to his two sisters. Aegon II, Rhaenyra’s half-brother, is married to her half-sister – his sister – Helaena.
Finally, another example we can give for Westeros incest is Rhaenyra’s two eldest sons, Jacaerys and Lucerys, being betrothed to Daemon’s daughters and Rhaenyra’s cousins, Rhaena and Baela.
