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House of the Dragonseason 1, episode 9 “The Green Council,” is when viewers get to see the coronation of Viserys and Alicent Hightower’s son, Aegon Targaryen. To remind people of the ancient strength of House Targaryen, Alicent plans to anoint him at dawn in front of the whole of the capital city of King’s Landing. Aegon claims he has no desire for duty and remains reluctant until anointed, crowned, and hailed as the true heir to the Iron Throne.
InHouse of the Dragon, Aegon the wastrel is ferried to the Dragonpit in a royal wheelhouse to be installed as a monarch. Alicent is insistent on bestowing every Targaryen regalia upon his son that Aegon the Conqueror once possessed. Examples include the Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre, the Valyrian steel crown, andthe Valyrian steel dagger. She thinks her son has the attributes of the Conqueror and goes all out for his coronation. The crown, by extension, is the biggest symbol of Aegon II’s Targaryen heritage.
Aegon The Conqueror’s Two Coronations
Aegon’s First Test
Game of Throneslore bears testament to the fact that Aegon the Conqueror was crowned twice with a Valyrian steel circlet: first byhis sister-wife, Visenya, and later by, the High Septon. The first coronation came early in the Conquest, soon after Aegon’s first test. He was able to defeat the combined strength of notable Houses such as Darklyn of Duskendale and Mooton of Maidenpool. Aegon didn’t directly face his enemies on the battlefield but sent his capable commander, Orys Baratheon, and the Targaryen soldiers to meet them in the open. He took care of the rest, atop Balerion the Black Dread.
This substantial victory combined with the previous submission of minor Houses such as Rosby and Stokeworth meant that Aegon had formally secured not just any other area, but the strategic sides of the mouth of the Blackwater Rush. He’d already fortified the area by constructing amotte-and-bailey castle, named Aegonfortat the mouth of the Blackwater. Thereafter, he invited his loyalists to Aegonfort as witnesses to his coronation.Game of Throneslore states that sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys, played important roles in this investiture. The former crowned him, and the latter hailed him as:
Aegon, First of His Name, King of All Westeros and Shield of His People.
However, Aegon’s first test was just at the beginning of the Conquest. He would face stiff resistance from the mighty hosts throughout the Seven Kingdoms.
Field of Fire and Submission Of The North
After the decisive victory in Field of Fire, andKing Torrhen Stark’s capitulation, Aegon had most of Westeros under his control. He now proceeded south of Westeros, towards Oldtown, where Lord Manfred Hightower of House Hightower met him outside the city gates and laid down his sword.Game of Throneslore says Manfred did so at the advice of the High Septon, as the latter received a vision that Oldtown would be razed to the ground if they fought back Aegon.
This event was followed by Aegon’s second and final coronation at Oldtown. The massive coronation took place in the Starry Sept, and it was conducted by the High Septon himself. The ceremony took place at the very end of the Conquest, and the day marked the beginning of Aegon’s reign. It is pertinent to mention that while six of the Seven Kingdoms had fallen,Dorne remained unbowed, unbent, and unbroken. The High Septon also carried out the act of anointing Aegon with the seven oils, followed by placing the Valyrian circlet on his head and proclaiming him:
Aegon of House Targaryen, the First of His Name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm.
A ceremony of a similar nature, conducted by Septon Eustace, took place on HBO’sHouse of the Dragon. The previous night, Alicent Hightower declared that her son:
…will take the crown of his namesake, the Conqueror, and carry Blackfyre, his sword.
Lord Commander Criston Cole presented Alicent’s firstborn to people in the Dragonpit as:
All hail His Grace, Aegon, Second of his Name, King of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm.
Aegon’s Valyrian Steel Crown
The Conqueror’s crown isfashioned out of Valyrian steel. Like the ancient crown of the Kings of Winter, it too is a circlet. However, Aegon II’s crown in the show is a bit different from the Conqueror’s crown in canon. In the source material, Aegon I’s crown is studded with large square-cut rubies, while inHouse of the Dragon,a smaller ruby remains in its center. The Targaryen kings who wore this crown in the canon include Aenys I, Maegor the Cruel, Aegon II, and Daeron I. In the canon, Aemond Targaryen, who acted as Prince Regent for Aegon II during his recovery, also wore it. The Valyrian steel circlet was lost when King Daeron I invaded and died in Dorne.
An excerpt from the writings of archmaester Gyldayn of the Citadel compares Aegon I’s two coronations:
Only a handful of lords had been present for Aegon’s first coronation at the mouth of the Blackwater, but hundreds were on hand to witness his second, and tens of thousands cheered him afterward […] Amongst those at Aegon’s second coronation were the maesters and archmaesters of the Citadel. Perhaps for that reason, it was this coronation, rather than the Aegonfort crowning on the day of Aegon’s landing, that became fixed as the start of Aegon’s reign.
Despite HBO’s stylistic changes in the royal heirloom, the crown that Tom Glynn-Carney’s Aegon II wears inHouse of the Dragonis a reminder of the Conqueror’s incredible legacy. The dark of its metal stands out against Aegon II’ssilver Targaryen hair. The HBO coronation’s main theme is identity, and the crown is a symbol of the bond Aegon I and his namesake share.
