NOTE: This article contains significant spoilers from the latest episode of House Dragon . The penultimate episode of the first season is behind us, and with it the confirmation that Aegon II will officially replace Viserys as King of Westeros. While Rhaenyra was away from King’s Landing, and Alicent believed her late husband had changed his mind on his deathbed, Aegon was crowned king. However, the crown that Aegon II received at his coronation is not the one Viserys wore throughout his reign. The new crown is not only an important element in the history of Game of Thrones , but also a preview of what is to come.
The crown given to Aegon in the episode is black, very different from the gold one worn by Viserys. Aegon’s crown actually belonged to the first Targaryen to rule the Seven Kingdoms, the king who forged the Iron Throne: Aegon the Conqueror. It was decided to give Aegon the crown of his namesake who conquered Westeros on the back of the dragon, and not to give him the crown of his father who ruled in the era of peace. It is also worth noting that Aegon II did not like his father very much.
Source: HBO
Where did Aegon’s crown come from? Aegon the Conqueror wore the black crown during his reign. This crown was given to the next king, Aenys, who wore it at the beginning of his reign on the Iron Throne. He later received a golden crown from High Septon. His successor, Maegor, hated the Faith of the Seven and decided to reuse the original crown. Jaehaerys, who initially traded Viserys for his successor, chose the golden crown. He wanted to distinguish himself from Maegor’s violence and used the crown as a way to represent the changes he would make as king.
The golden crown was often worn by peaceful kings, while Aegon’s crown was only worn by the impetuous Maegor after Aegon’s departure. Why was Aegon II given a different crown? The Conqueror’s Crown is representative of the more dangerous rulers. This foreshadows the fate of Aegon II, as his coronation begins a civil war among the Targaryen family.
The crown is also, in a way, the namesake of Aegon. She was worn by the only other king who shared his name. This is especially interesting when we think about Alicent’s last conversation with Viserys in Episode 8 . He believed that he was talking to Rhaaenyra and talking about Aegon’s vision of a unified Kingdom. While he was talking about Aegon from the past, Alicent thought he was referring to their son.
The Season 1 finale of the Dragon Family series will be available from Monday, October 24 on HBO and HBO Max in Poland.