All Targaryens in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: Family Tree + Titles (Simple Guide)

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Targaryens in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: a simple family tree + titles (quick guide)

If you’re reading A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (the collected Dunk & Egg novellas) or watching the adaptation and thinking “Wait—how are all these Targaryens related?”, this guide is for you. It’s built to be skimmable: who’s who, what each title means, and where each Targaryen fits in the family tree.

Spoiler note: This post includes light-to-moderate spoilers about family relationships, succession, and major outcomes from the novellas.

A quick vibe check (video)

If you want a fast refresher on the setting and the key faces, this official trailer is a solid primer before diving into the family tree.

Table of contents

Timeline: where the novellas sit

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is three stories in one book. Each story is set during the last stretch of King Daeron II’s reign and the uneasy “aftershocks” of the Blackfyre era, when dragons are long gone but the family name still rules.

  • The Hedge Knight — 209 AC (Ashford Meadow tourney; lots of Targaryens on-page)
  • The Sworn Sword — 211 AC (Targaryens mostly off-page; their influence still shapes the world)
  • The Mystery Knight — 212 AC (Blackfyre tensions return; key royal figures appear)

The simple Targaryen family tree (Dunk & Egg era)

Here’s the “you only need this” version. Start at the top and you’ll immediately understand who Egg is, why Baelor matters, and why Maekar’s sons are… a situation. 

King DAERON II TARGARYEN (“Daeron the Good”)
└── Sons:
    ├── Prince BAE LOR “Breakspear” TARGARYEN (heir; Hand of the King)
    │   ├── Prince VALARR TARGARYEN
    │   └── Prince MATARYS TARGARYEN
    ├── Prince AERYS TARGARYEN (later King Aerys I)
    ├── Prince RHAEGEL TARGARYEN
    └── Prince MAEKAR TARGARYEN (Prince of Summerhall; later King Maekar I)
        ├── Prince DAERON TARGARYEN (“Daeron the Drunken”)
        ├── Prince AERION TARGARYEN (“Brightflame”)
        ├── Prince AEMON TARGARYEN (sent to the Citadel; later Maester Aemon)
        └── Prince AEGON TARGARYEN (“Egg” → later King Aegon V)

Titles explained in plain English

  • King / Queen — sits the Iron Throne. In this era, the reigning monarch is King Daeron II.
  • Prince of Dragonstone — the official title of the heir to the Iron Throne. If you see “Prince of Dragonstone,” read it as “crown prince.”
  • Hand of the King — the king’s chief executive: runs the realm day-to-day, commands authority in the king’s name.
  • Prince of Summerhall — a princely title tied to the Summerhall seat (and its lands/income). It does not automatically mean “heir,” but it usually signals high status and royal favor.
  • Ser — a knight. Many highborn are knights, but knighthood is a separate honor from being a prince.
  • “The Unlikely” — a nickname for someone who was not expected to inherit the throne (Egg earns this later in life).

All Targaryens in the novellas (who they are + why they matter)

This section is written like a “cast list with context.” If you only remember one thing, remember this: the Targaryens in Dunk & Egg aren’t dragonlords anymore—they’re a ruling family trying to keep control through politics, reputation, and sheer inherited authority.

1) King Daeron II Targaryen

  • Role/title: King of the Seven Kingdoms
  • Family: Father of Baelor, Aerys, Rhaegel, and Maekar
  • Why he matters: He’s the “source” of legitimacy for everyone around Egg, and his reign frames the whole era.
  • Where you feel him most: The court structure, the princes’ behavior, and how people talk about rebellion/loyalty.

2) Prince Baelor “Breakspear” Targaryen

  • Role/title: Prince of Dragonstone (heir) and Hand of the King
  • Family: Eldest son of Daeron II; father of Valarr and Matarys
  • Why he matters: He’s the best “human proof” that the dynasty can still produce honorable, stabilizing leadership.
  • Dunk & Egg connection: His judgment directly affects Dunk’s fate and Egg’s safety.

3) Prince Valarr Targaryen

  • Role/title: Prince (Baelor’s eldest son)
  • Family: Grandson of Daeron II; cousin to Maekar’s sons (including Egg)
  • Why he matters: He represents the “next-next” generation—young, talented, and politically important simply by existing.
  • Story function: His presence raises the stakes around honor, injury, and what happens when common-born people collide with royalty.

4) Prince Matarys Targaryen

  • Role/title: Prince (Baelor’s younger son)
  • Family: Same branch as Valarr
  • Why he matters: Even when he’s mostly background, he clarifies the line of succession and how “secure” the dynasty seems—until it isn’t.

5) Prince Maekar Targaryen (later King Maekar I)

  • Role/title: Prince of Summerhall
  • Family: Youngest son of Daeron II; father of Daeron, Aerion, Aemon, and Aegon (“Egg”)
  • Why he matters: He’s the hard-edged “royal power” Dunk runs into—status, temper, discipline, and real political weight.
  • Story function: Maekar’s household is basically the pressure cooker that shapes Egg’s entire character arc.

6) Prince Daeron Targaryen (“Daeron the Drunken”)

  • Role/title: Prince (Maekar’s eldest son)
  • Family: Egg’s oldest brother
  • Why he matters: He’s an example of “royal potential going sideways”—a reminder that bloodline doesn’t equal stability.
  • In plain terms: The dynasty’s public image lives and dies on princes like this.

7) Prince Aerion “Brightflame” Targaryen

  • Role/title: Prince (Maekar’s second son)
  • Family: Egg’s older brother
  • Why he matters: He embodies the “fear of Targaryens” that survives long after dragons are extinct: entitlement, cruelty, and the threat of royal violence with no consequences.
  • Story function: Aerion is a personal antagonist for Dunk and a political danger-sign for the realm.

8) Prince Aemon Targaryen (later Maester Aemon)

  • Role/title: Prince (by birth), later a maester
  • Family: Egg’s older brother
  • Why he matters: Aemon shows how the dynasty “manages risk” by sending spare heirs into institutions like the Citadel.
  • Dunk & Egg connection: He’s part of Egg’s emotional backbone and early identity.

9) Prince Aegon “Egg” Targaryen (later King Aegon V)

  • Role/title: A prince in disguise, traveling as a squire
  • Family: Youngest son of Maekar; nephew to Baelor; great-grandson of the previous era’s power struggles
  • Why he matters: He’s the bridge between the royal world and the ground-level world—he learns what rule looks like from the bottom up.
  • In one sentence: Egg is the Targaryen who gets a reality check early… and it changes everything.

10) Princes Aerys and Rhaegel (mostly “off-page” but still important)

  • Role/title: Princes (Aerys later becomes King Aerys I)
  • Family: Brothers of Baelor and Maekar
  • Why they matter: When you understand that Daeron II has multiple adult sons and multiple grandsons, you understand why succession feels “safe”… until plague, accidents, and politics start removing pieces from the board.

Targaryen-blooded players without the Targaryen name (important!)

If you only focus on “people literally named Targaryen,” you’ll miss one of the biggest truths of the Dunk & Egg era: the family’s shadow is wider than its surname.

  • Brynden “Bloodraven” Rivers — a “Great Bastard” of House Targaryen (born a Rivers), and a major power in the realm. If the princes are the public face of royal authority, Bloodraven is the part that watches, anticipates, and removes threats before they grow.
  • House Blackfyre — a rival offshoot descended from a legitimized Targaryen bastard line. Even when Blackfyres aren’t physically present in a scene, the mere rumor of them reshapes how people act around Egg.

What Reddit Theories Say About Egg, succession, and the “Dunk & Egg” era

One of the most fun parts of the Dunk & Egg fandom is that readers constantly try to connect the “small stories” to the huge history: succession dominoes, secret identities, and how a hedge knight ends up woven into the royal line’s fate.

Who is Egg?
by u/ in gameofthrones

A common reader reaction is exactly this: “Okay, but where does Egg fit?” Once you anchor Egg as Maekar’s youngest son, everything else clicks—especially why older brothers (and older branches) matter so much.

Am I missing something? (Spoilers Published)
by u/ in asoiaf

One official post that kicked the hype into gear

A related Instagram post (poster / announcement)

FAQ

Is Egg really a Targaryen?

Yes. “Egg” is Prince Aegon Targaryen—traveling incognito as Dunk’s squire.

Who is the “main” Targaryen to remember?

If you only remember one: Egg. If you remember two: Egg and Baelor Breakspear. Those two explain the heart (Egg) and the political peak (Baelor) of this era.

Why are there so many princes at once?

Because Daeron II has multiple adult sons, and those sons have sons. It makes the dynasty look “stable” on paper… but it also creates tension: too many claimants, too many rivalries, too many ways succession can go wrong.

Does this era still have dragons?

No living dragons in the Dunk & Egg era. That’s why “Targaryen power” here is mostly political, not magical.

That’s the whole Targaryen “who’s who” for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Bookmark this and you’ll never get lost when a prince rides into camp.