'House Of The Dragon': Why Was Daeron Targaryen Sent Away From King's Landing?

WARNING! SPOILERS for House of the Dragon 3x03, 'Rhaenyra Triumphant'.

Lord Ormund Hightower managed to pull a switcheroo on Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen in the latest episode of House of the Dragon. Ormund handed over an imposter to be Rhaenyra's hostage while the real Prince Daeron and his Dragon, Tessarion, helped the Hightower host sack and claim Tumbleton. The ruse was only uncovered late in the episode when Alicent asked to see her son, alerting Rhaenyra to the deception.

The ruse worked because despite their close blood connection, neither Rhaenyra nor Daemon, who collected 'Daeron', had ever met the boy, due to his having spent most of his life as a Hightower ward. However, some fans have questioned why Daeron was sent away from King's Landing to begin with.

Let's look at what we know about Daeron for some possible answers.

If that wasn't Daeron, where/who is he?

Daeron Targaryen is the youngest son of King Viserys I Targaryen and his second wife, Alicent Hightower, and is bonded to the dragon Tessarion, also known as the Blue Queen. There is no mention of Daeron at all in the first season of House of the Dragon, leading some fans to fear the character had been cut from the television adaptation, until Alicent asks her brother, Ser Gwayne, for news of Daeron in season two, revealing he has been living as a Ward in Oldtown, home of House Hightower. At the end of the season, he is revealed to have mounted his dragon and joined the Hightower army to aid Aegon II's cause.

In Fire and Blood, the book which provides House of The Dragon's source material, Daeron served as the cupbearer and later Squire for Lord Ormund.

When we first meet Lord Ormund in House of The Dragon 3x01, in the scene in which Alicent's letter is delivered to the Hightower army's camp, Ormund is accompanied by a red-haired boy dressed in green, whom some fans have pinpointed as the real Prince Daeron Targaryen. Either his hair has been dyed to hide his Targaryen blond, or he simply favours his Mother in appearance. The boy also appears to be in possession of a pair of gloves similar to those we've seen others wear when dragon riding, and Tessarion seems to glance in the boy's direction on a few occasions during the scene.

In contrast, Tessarion is not at all troubled when the imposter Daeron was handed over to Daemon, which fans are now taking as an early clue to the switch.

Why was Daeron sent away from King's Landing?

Fans have a few theories as to why Prince Daeron was sent away to live with the Hightowers. One of these theories is that if the boy in the 3x01 clip is in fact Daeron, his favouring the Hightower looks breaks the illusion of Targaryen genes dominating in Alicent and Viserys's children, which Team Green had always used as a subtle bolster to Aegon II's claim to the throne over Rhaenyra.

Prior to Daeron's reveal, some fans took this a step further, theorising that in the TV universe, Daeron was not the son of Viserys I Targaryen at all, but a product of Alicent's affair with Ser Criston Cole. If this had been true, Alicent would have had Daeron sent away to keep herself from appearing hypocritical after her treatment of Rhaenyra's secretly bastard sons. However, Daeron's bond with the dragon Tessarion debunked this theory before it could ever really take off, confirming his Targaryen blood.

Warding was common in Medieval times

The truth of the matter is much less scandalous than most of the fan theories. In the medieval type world in which George R.R Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire stories are set, it is common for children to be sent away from home to become the Ward of another House. This is most common for younger sons who were not the heir of their House, or daughters sent to ward in the house of their betrothed, as occurred when Myrcella Baratheon was sent to Dorne in Game of Thrones.

The practice was often done as a way to build and strengthen bonds between allied houses. This worked for Ned Stark, a second son, as his friendship with Robert Baratheon was formed when both were wards of Jon Arryn, Lord of the Vale. Bran Stark witnesses the day of his Father's departure to the Vale in Game of Thrones. In Fire and Blood, it is hinted that Joffrey Velaryon, Rhaenyra's third son, may have been destined to ward in the Vale even before civil war occurred.

So, rather than anything scandalous, it is far more likely that Daeron, a third son unlikely to ever reach the throne, was sent to ward with the Hightowers simply to continue common custom. Unfortunately for Rhaenyra, it means the Hightower army have their very own dragon. We'll have to keep watching to see how things unfold.