Who’s Who in House of the Dragon Season 3’s Targaryen Civil War

House of the Dragon Season 3 premiered on HBO on June 21, 2026. It continues the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons, with Rhaenyra Targaryen now holding the Iron Throne while her half-brother Aegon II has fled King’s Landing.

Why It Matters: The Three Great Houses

The conflict in Season 3 revolves around three noble houses: the Targaryens, the Velaryons, and the Hightowers. House Targaryen is the royal family of Westeros, known for their silver hair and ability to ride dragons.

House Velaryon is a wealthy seafaring family from Driftmark, closely allied with the Targaryens through marriage.

House Hightower rules Oldtown and backs the Greens, the faction supporting King Aegon II. These houses are tangled together by blood, marriage, and betrayal, making the civil war as much a family feud as a political struggle.

The Dance of the Dragons: Blacks vs. Greens

The Dance of the Dragons splits the Targaryens into two factions: the Blacks and the Greens. The Blacks support Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, the designated heir of her father King Viserys I. The Greens support her half-brother King Aegon II, who seized the throne after Viserys died.

The names come from the house colors of the two women at the center of the feud: Rhaenyra’s black Targaryen banner and Alicent Hightower’s green dress at a key tournament.

On the Black side, Rhaenyra leads alongside her husband and uncle, Daemon Targaryen. Daemon is a fierce warrior who rides the crimson dragon Caraxes. He has children from two marriages: with Laena Velaryon (deceased) he fathered Baela and Rhaena; with Rhaenyra he fathered Aegon III and Viserys II.

Rhaenyra’s eldest son Jacaerys is a dragonrider, as is Daemon’s daughter Baela. Rhaena, who had no dragon, has now claimed the wild dragon Sheepstealer, though the beast went rogue during the Battle of the Gullet.

On the Green side, King Aegon II and his mother Alicent Hightower lead, along with Aegon’s siblings: Queen Helaena, Prince Aemond, and the previously unseen Prince Daeron. The Greens also have the backing of House Hightower, led by Lord Ormund Hightower, who is introduced in Season 3.

Season 3: New Faces and New Losses

Season 3 introduces two key figures. Lord Ormund Hightower is the head of House Hightower and a powerful ally of the Greens. Prince Daeron Targaryen, the youngest son of Viserys I and Alicent, is shown on screen for the first time.

He was previously mentioned but never seen. Daeron’s arrival adds a new dragonrider to the Green cause.

The season also reshapes the family tree with further deaths, building on losses from Season 2. In Season 2, Queen Rhaenyra’s side lost Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, known as the Queen Who Never Was, who died at Rook’s Rest.

On the Green side, Aegon II and Helaena lost their young son Jaehaerys, assassinated on the orders of Prince Daemon. These deaths hardened the divide and set the stage for the Battle of the Gullet, a major confrontation in Season 3 that affects Rhaenyra’s family directly.

Another important detail: Rhaenyra’s children with Laenor Velaryon — Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey — are legally members of House Velaryon. However, it is widely known that their biological father is Daemon Targaryen.

This keeps the Velaryons central to Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne, even as the Greens question the legitimacy of her sons.

What’s Next in the Civil War

The civil war shows no signs of stopping. Both sides are gathering allies and dragons. With Daeron now in the fight and Sheepstealer bonded to Rhaena, the balance of power shifts unpredictably.

The Targaryen family tree will continue to lose branches as the Dance of the Dragons reaches its bloodiest phase.