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SPOILER WARNING
This page includes content relating to the Dunk & Egg novellas, and therefore contains potential spoilers for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, as revealed in George R.R. Martin's writings. Anyone wishing to remain completely spoiler free for this prequel series should avoid any pages displaying this tag. |
Rhaegar Targaryen is enamoured with Lyanna Stark, shunning his wife, Elia Martell, in order to "crown" Lyanna queen of love and beauty.
- "He rode past his wife and he lay a crown of winter roses in Lyanna's lap. Blue with frost. How many tens of thousands had to die because Rhaegar chose your aunt?"
- ―Petyr Baelish to Sansa Stark on Rhaegar Targaryen's "crowning" of Lyanna Stark
The queen of love and beauty[1] is a tradition held in tourneys in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.
History[]
Game of Thrones: Season 5[]
Sansa Stark visits the statue of her aunt Lyanna Stark in the crypt at Winterfell, lighting a candle in the statue's hand. Sansa is joined by Petyr Baelish, her recently widowed uncle by marriage, who recalls what happened at the Great Tourney at Harrenhal where Rhaegar Targaryen shocked everyone present by passing over his wife in order to crown Lyanna as the queen of love and beauty. Baelish concludes his story by noting how this seemingly sweet gesture led to deaths of thousands.[2]
Game of Thrones: Season 8[]
While Brienne of Tarth writes Jaime Lannister's deeds within the Book of Brothers, it is mentioned that Alys Reyne was crowned as queen of love and beauty by Gwayne Gaunt[a] in the tourney of Brightwater Keep.[3]
Known Queens of Love and Beauty[]
- Alys Reyne, named by Ser Gwayne Gaunt[a] at Brightwater Keep.
- Lyanna Stark, named by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen at Harrenhal.
In the books[]
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the tradition holds that the victor in a tournament may select any woman present and name her the queen of love and beauty, crowning her with a wreath of flowers and dedicating his victory to her.
The victorious knight often chooses a woman he loves or intends to court, and it can be a source of scandal if the victor crowns a woman already bound to another man, or if a married man crowns someone other than his wife. Since both of these cases were true when Prince Rhaegar Targaryen crowned Lyanna Stark after winning a tourney at Harrenhal, it was particularly scandalous.
Queen Naerys Targaryen was crowned by her brother, Prince Aemon the Dragonknight, who was disguised as a mystery knight known as the "Knight of Tears". Queen Naerys was married to King Aegon IV Targaryen.
Princess Rhaella Targaryen was crowned by Ser Bonifer Hasty, a landed knight of the Stormlands.
Ser Jorah Mormont crowned Lynesse Hightower after winning a tourney at Lannisport, requesting and receiving her hand in marriage from her father that very night.
Known Queens of Love and Beauty[]
- Queen Alysanne Targaryen, named by Ser Ryam Redwyne at King's Landing.
- Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, named by Ser Criston Cole at Maidenpool.
- Queen Naerys Targaryen, named by Prince Aemon Targaryen.
- Lady of House Ashford, named at Ashford Meadow.
- Princess Rhaella Targaryen, named by Ser Bonifer Hasty.
- Lady of House Whent, named before the Great Tourney at Harrenhal.
- Lyanna Stark, named by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen at Harrenhal.
- Lynesse Hightower, named by Ser Jorah Mormont at Lannisport.
References[]
- ↑ Game of Thrones: Season 8, Episode 6: "The Iron Throne" (2019).
- ↑ "Sons of the Harpy"
- ↑ "The Iron Throne"
Notes[]
External links[]
Queen of love and beauty on A Wiki of Ice and Fire (potential spoilers for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms)
