Daeron II Targaryen


 * This article is about the son of King Aegon IV, known as "Daeron the Good". For Aegon IV's older first cousin, known as "Daeron the Young Dragon", see "Daeron I Targaryen". 

"Eventually, after centuries of courtship, House Martell got into bed with the Targaryens. We took King Daeron II and his sister for our own, before they could take each other, and six kingdoms became seven."

- Oberyn Martell

Daeron II Targaryen, also called Daeron the Good, is a character mentioned in the first and fourth seasons and appearing in the Histories & Lore features. He is not expected to appear in the series, being long dead by the time it begins.

Daeron was the second King of his name to sit on the Iron Throne and the twelfth king of the Targaryen dynasty to rule the Seven Kingdoms. He was an ancestor of Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen. He was formally styled Daeron of House Targaryen, the Second of His Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm.

Background
Daeron was the son of King Aegon IV Targaryen and Queen Naerys Targaryen, born on the year 159 since Aegon's Landing. He had a sister, Princess Daenerys. He also had a half-brother, Daemon Blackfyre, born of the affair between his father and Queen Daena Targaryen, the sister-wife of Baelor I Targaryen.

He married Myriah of House Martell at Sunspear. With her, he fathered several sons: Baelor, Aerys, Rhaegel, and Maekar; and one daughter, Aelinor.

During his reign, his half-brother Daemon rebelled against his rule to claim the Iron Throne for himself. Daeron perished during the Great Spring Sickness. He was succeeded by his son Aerys.

Season 1
Daeron II, along with siblings and progenie, is mentioned in the House Targaryen entry of the book The Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms. He's described as purple blue of eyes, silver of hair and round of shoulders.

Season 4
Tyrion Lannister mentions that Daeron the Good is one of the kings analyzed in the classic book, Lives of Four Kings, when he gives a copy of the book to King Joffrey as a wedding present.

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Daeron II was a dignified man. He had a kind thoughtful face. He was round-shouldered, with thin legs and a small pot belly. His face has a certain quiet strength, though, and his eyes are clear and full of resolve. He wore his father's elaborate dragon Crown. On his coinage, he was depicted as clean-shaven. He was not a warrior by any means, but a cultured, scholarly man who kept company with maesters and other learned men.

After the failed Conquest of Dorne, King Baelor the Blessed arranged the marriage of his Prince Daeron to Princess Myriah Martell of Dorne as part of a dual marriage pact between the two kingdoms, thus bringing Dorne into the Seven Kingdoms. He also officiated at the wedding ceremony. Princess Myriah brought many of her native manners and customs with her, and many noble Dornishmen and women flocked to his court, all serving to give life in the Red Keep a foreign flavor, and alienating many of Daeron's nobles and courtiers. In 170AL they had their first son, whom they named Baelor in honor of Baelor the Blessed. Daeron founded a new castle at Summerhall, in the Dornish Marches, roughly where Dorne, the Reach, and the Stormlands come together.

Late in Aegon IV's reign, it was whispered that his father had come to believe that Daeron was not his son, but the product of an illegitimate union between his wife Naerys and their brother, Aemon, and was planning to disinherit Daeron in favor of Daemon Blackfyre. Others counter that Aegon IV himself started this rumor, because he was disgusted that his trueborn son Daeron was an intelligent and scholarly man, and he simply wished he wasn't really his son. As this theory goes, Aegon IV had became so impressed with his bastard son Daemon Blackfyre, who was a consummate warrior and personally charismatic (though he had no experience at politics), that he increasingly wanted to name Daemon as his official heir. Daeron ascended to the throne, however, following Aegon IV's sudden illness and death, following his ascension he wore his father's elaborate dragon crown to legitimise his claim, and gave Daemon lands in the Crownlands to build a castle to quench his claim to the Iron Throne. Nevertheless, several military-minded lords gathered around Daemon and supported his claim to the Iron Throne, causing the First Blackfyre Rebellion.

Through his younger son Maekar, Daeron II was the grandfather of Maester Aemon and his younger brother, King Aegon V.

Daeron II was king at the beginning of the Tales of Dunk and Egg prequel novellas, which begin 90 years before the War of the Five Kings and follow the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall and Aegon "Egg" Targaryen. The first novellas, The Hedge Knight, takes place in the last few months of Daeron II's reign. Daeron II isn't directly involved in the narrative, but his sons Baelor and Maekar feature prominently in its events. The second novella, The Sworn Sword, takes place a year and a half later, after the Great Spring Sickness struck Westeros and after Daeron II died from it. It is possible that Daeron II might appear in any potential live-action adaptation of the Tales of Dunk and Egg.