In George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood, we are told of the incident where Rhaenyra Targaryen's husband Laenor Velaryon dies while attending a fair in Spicetown, on the island of Driftmark. We learn he was “stabbed to death” by a knight in his father's service, his paramour Ser Qarl Quarry.
Laenor Velaryon was the only son of Lord Corlys Velaryon and Princess Rhaenys Targaryen. He was the heir to Driftmark and the first husband of his second cousin, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen.
Rhaenyra and Daemon both know Laenor is alive, and faked his death.
“They're really seeing each other for the first time since they were children — probably since the first time Rhaenyra found out that Alicent was marrying her dad,” Cooke added.
Ultimately, Rhaenyra has two husbands (not at the same time) and gives birth to six children.
Rhaenyra will have two marriages (and two lovers) in House of the Dragon, with six children (technically three by each husband, the suspicion that the first three are by another man is a source of much violence and discord in Westeros).
According to the accounts of Septon Eustace, prior to her turning sixteen, Rhaenyra lost her virginity to her uncle, Prince Daemon, after he seduced her.
In the fifth episode of the prequel "Game of Thrones" series, Criston (Fabien Frankel) reveals to queen Alicent that he slept with her friend and stepdaughter Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock).
Laenor and Rhaenyra had three sons together: Princes Jacaerys 'Jace', Lucerys 'Luke', and Joffrey 'Joff' Velaryon.
Cooke said that she and D'Arcy” have “definitely” talked about Alicent and Rhaenyra being “each other's first love,” although by this point “too much has happened and too much time has passed to probably even recognize those fledgling feelings.”
Rhaenyra has been pregnant with her daughter Visenya since House of the Dragon's latest and last time jump, and it is heartbreaking to see her deal with this loss. The way in which the scene plays out makes it especially disturbing. RELATED: House of the Dragon: Which Dragon is Daemon Singing To?
At the end of “Driftmark,” it looks as though Daemon and Rhaenyra Targaryen have conspired to kill Rhaenyra's husband, Laenor Velaryon, in order to pave the way for their own marriage.
Prosthetic designer confirms: the baby was deformed
The dead girl had been named Visenya. “ The baby was clearly among those rare cases in the Targaryen line, where it was described that an unsuccessful birth had produced a stillborn baby with dragon-like features.
'House of the Dragon': Daemon and Rhaenyra's First Sex Scene is About Way More Than Just Incest. Well, they did it.
She confirmed that her marriage to Laenor Velaryon (John Macmillan) was merely for show. "We did try to conceive a child," she shared with Daemon. "We performed our duty as best we could, but to no avail.
As he tells Rhaenyra: marrying her is the only way out of the dishonorable hell he has created for himself. She wants the status quo to carry on while he can't stand to be her common whore while she's married to another man. That is simply just too many dishonorable things stacked on top of one another.
When finally did give birth to the baby, it is said that the child had a hole where her heart should have been, a tail, and scales for skin—a monster, as her mother had cursed her to be. Upon her death, Rhaenyra swore yet another vow.
In Fire & Blood, the book House of the Dragon is based on, Daemon and Rhaenyra go on to have two boys: Aegon and Viserys. Yup, another Aegon and another Viserys. They also have a daughter, Visenya, but she is sadly a stillborn baby.
Daemon and Rhaenyra share two children together: Aegon III and Viserys II.
While House Of The Dragon episode 4 showed Daemon was able to seduce Rhaenyra by kissing and undressing her, he couldn't fulfill the act due to impotence.
Daemon shows his genuine care and attention to Rhaenyra several times before the two marry. This doesn't take away from the many destructive and inappropriate parts of their relationship, but the books imply that Daemon does love Rhaenyra.
Back at the castle, an inflamed Rhaenyra swiftly seduces Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) and the two have sex. She's flirtatious the next morning, but Criston is awkward. She's still his boss, after all, and the king would likely have his head if he knew the truth.
Rhaenyra's children are bastards, and Vaemond finally let everyone know in Episode 8, as loudly as he possibly could. For that, he lost his head, though Daemon let him keep his tongue.
Like Laenor Velaryon's sexuality, it was a “known secret” in the Red Keep that Harwin Strong was the father to Rhaenyra's three children: Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey.