Not only does Rhaenyra marrying Laenor prevent gossip about her trysts, but it also keeps his own secrets from affecting his reputation. Fire & Blood all but confirms that Laenor Velaryon is gay, suggesting Rhaenys and Corlys were eager to accept the marriage proposal to alleviate gossip.
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. There was no joy in it.
The Princess was initially reluctant to choose a suitor, but when she engaged in behaviors unbecoming of a royal woman with her uncle Daemon, the King was outraged and demanded that Rhaenyra marry Laenor Velaryon post-haste.
In the seventh episode of the blockbuster HBO series, Prince Daemon marries his own niece, Princess Rhaenyra.
Rhaenyra and Laenor are essentially only married for political purposes with both characters agreeing to pursue extramarital relationships.
It was abundantly clear in the season finale that Daemon truly values Rhaenyra as the queen, and it doesn't appear to be for his own gain. All of his actions indicate that he looks to her as his leader even before she's taken power and has every intention to get her to her rightful throne.
Regardless of this, Rhaenyra's pregnancy was soon announced, and in the waning days of 114 AC she gave birth to their first child. Laenor wished to name the child Joffrey, but was overruled by his father, who named the boy Jacaerys. Rhaenyra gave birth to a second son a year later, who was named Lucerys.
Turns out, Rhaenyra and Daemon are endgame, meaning they have a sexually tense relationship, eventually hook up, and get married—which is pretty significant from a power play perspective considering (1) they both want the throne and (2) their Targaryen union is almost sure to guarantee that happens—even though Alicent ...
Rhaenyra Targaryen: In episode 2, Viserys mentions his daughter, Rhaenyra, is 15 years old. Then, following a time jump in episode 3, he mentions she is now 17 (and “of age” to marry).
But, while time may heal all wounds, 10 years certainly wasn't enough time for Alicent's wounds to heal over being lied to by Rhaenyra. We last saw her find out the truth in "We Light the Way" that Rhaenyra lost her virginity to Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel).
In "Fire & Blood," Rhaenyra's longest-lasting relationship is with her uncle, Prince Daemon Targaryen. In addition to the age gap and the incest, their relationship starts off on an especially controversial foot, with rumors that he either seduced her or taught her to seduce Ser Criston Cole, resulting in his exile.
The story of the princess and her valiant knight did not end as a fairy tale, though. A sordid and controversial story began to spread that Rhaenyra lost her virginity to her uncle Daemon at age 16. No one knows if that is true. But Targaryens had long married within the family to keep their bloodlines pure.
Princess Visenya Targaryen
Ultimately, Rhaenyra has two husbands (not at the same time) and gives birth to six children. Meanwhile, it is disputed in the book as to whether Rhaenyra ever consummated a romance with Ser Criston Cole, but either way, the two go from a close relationship to enemies.
Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) and Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) finally had sex on House of the Dragon. After teasing their deep connection for weeks, making out in a brothel, and flirting their way through King's Landing, uncle and niece at long last did the dirty.
Corr continued: "For an audience to believe us, we have to show all shades of the character. So we spoke about that in great detail and Miguel and Ryan also made it paramount that Harwin very much loves Rhaenyra. He lives his life in service of this love and of his family."
It is when the guests are dancing, that Laenor's secret lover Joffrey approaches Rhaenyra's secret lover Criston and threatens him with blackmail, that triggers Ser Criston into ultimately beating him to a pulp and to the point of his face being completely mangled. Weddings in Westeros are very rarely nonviolent.
In the year 120 AC (the calendar in Westeros is measured by years following Aegon I's conquest), both Velaryon siblings die. Soon after being widowed, Daemon and Rhaenyra marry each other in secret when he is 39 years old, and she is 23.
Turns out, Rhaenyra and Daemon are endgame, meaning they have a sexually tense relationship, eventually hook up, and get married—which is pretty significant from a power play perspective considering (1) they both want the throne and (2) their Targaryen union is almost sure to guarantee that happens—even though Alicent ...
So, let's agree that he is (give or take) 16 years older than Rhaenyra. This places him in his early 30s when we first see him meet his niece. Yes, his niece. His teenage niece who we immediately realise he has a bit of a thing for.
Laena and Daemon marry soon after. Laena and Daemon were a power couple, and their marriage was celebrated by nearly all of Westeros and Essos — except for King Viserys and his court, who considered it another sign of Daemon's disrespect.
Daemon couldn't perform with Rhaenyra after she took control of the situation. “It's the idea that Daemon is using Rhaenyra as a way to get at her father,” showrunner Miguel Sapochnik said.
In Fire & Blood, however, Rhaenyra is in love with Daemon from a young age. Things change after she meets Criston Cole. Nevertheless, George R. R. Martin's books show that Rhaenyra's first love was Daemon, whereas House of the Dragon has a slower build-up between the two.
Rhaenyra was perfectly capable of having kids, and she had five healthy sons. Laenor didn't have children because he didn't want to, not because he was incapable (as in he was impotent, sterile, or had a condition that lowered his ability to sire children, such as undescended testicles, hypospadias, or chordee.)
Naturally, the rest of the court has taken after Viserys. Even Laenor, Rhaenyra's husband, hints that he knows the princes are not biologically his children in Episode 6.
In 196 AC, the year of their marriage, she painstakingly produced a set of twins, Aegon and Aella. Another set, Visenya and Valarr, came in 197 AC. After her troubled deliveries, it was said Rhaenyra had nearly beaten a serving girl to death for having claimed the princess would die in labour.