Theo Nate, John Macmillan & Matt Carver as Ser Laenor Velaryon

Lord Corlys Velaryon and Princess Rhaenys Targaryen had one son named Laenor Velaryon. In his first marriage, he married Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, his second cousin. Rhaenyra had three sons during their marriage: Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey. However, it was said that Rhaenyra’s lover fathered them instead of Laenor. Laenor was a dragon rider, and Seasmoke was her horse.

Laenor is played by John Macmillan (adult), Theo Nate (teen), and Matthew Carver (child) in the TV version of House of the Dragon.

Ser Laenor Velaryon Appearance and How He Looks Like

Laenor had purple eyes, a silver-white nose, and hair like snow. People knew that Laenor wasn’t interested in women and would rather hang out with good-looking young guys his age. Ser Criston Cole—who was against Laenor’s wife Rhaenyra—said that boys were not safe around Laenor.

Ser Laenor Velaryon’s Claim to the Iron Throne

Laenor was born in 94 AD to Lord Corlys Velaryon and Princess Rhaenys Targaryen. A sister named Laena was older than him. In 92 AC, Rhaenys’s father, Prince Aemon Targaryen, was the eldest son and heir of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen. He died soon after Rhaenys found out she was pregnant, so Jaehaerys’s second son, Baelon, was given Rhaenys and her future child instead.

When Rhaenys finally gave birth to a son during her second pregnancy, Baelon was already in charge as the next king. Even so, House Velaryon and Rhaenys’s House Baratheon claimed that Laenor, who had just been born, had a stronger claim to the Iron Throne.

After Baelon died in 101 AD, who would take over as King Jaehaerys’ son wasn’t clear. Not only did Baelon leave behind two live sons, but he was also a second son. Laenor, his mother, and his sister related to Jaehaerys’s firstborn son. The court was told that Lord Corlys was planning to protect Laenor’s “rights” by gathering ships and people on Driftmark.

To solve the problem, King Jaehaerys I called for a Great Council to be held at Harrenhal in 101 AD to choose the new king’s child. At Harrenhal, Laenor’s parents used their money and power to get the lords there to vote for Laenor. During the Great Council, Laenor’s and Viserys, Baelon’s oldest son, became the most popular claims.

Jaehaerys’s great-grandson Laenor was favored by primogeniture, but the concept of proximity favored Jaehaerys’s grandson Viserys. Many council members thought that the male line should come before the female line. Laenor was also not a good age; Viserys was already twenty-four, while Laenor was only seven.

Many lords, including Lord Boremund Baratheon, Lord Ellard Stark, Lord Manderly, Lord Dustin, Lord Blackwood, Lord Bar Emmon, Lord Celtigar, and others, backed Laenor, but the majority of the lords present chose Prince Viserys. It was said that the vote was more than twenty to one in favor of Viserys, but the exact numbers were never made public. By 101 AD, Laenor had just taken Seasmoke, a young dragon, as her own, but she had not yet ridden him.

Laenor Velaryon’s Marriage

Laenor was chosen by King Viserys I Targaryen and his small council as the wife of Viserys’s child, Rhaenyra Targaryen. This was because a marriage between the two houses would bring House Targaryen and House Velaryon back together. The only problem brought up was that Laenor wasn’t interested in women. It was said that he liked hanging out with beautiful squires his own age more, had never been close to a woman, and hadn’t had any scum.

The match was set in stone after Grand Maester Mellos ended this worry. Archmaester Gyldayn says that Princess Rhaenyra was also against the marriage, but she agreed when King Viserys I told her that he would make her half-brother Aegon his heir instead if she didn’t marry Laenor.

In 114 AD, Laenor and Rhaenyra got married. Laenor was made a knight two weeks before the wedding. As a way to enjoy the wedding, Laenor gave his favor to Ser Joffrey Lonmouth, who was his favorite man. During the joust, Ser Criston Cole killed Joffrey by a severe wound.

Joffrey died six days later. Mushroom says that Laenor spent the whole time by Joffrey’s bedside and cried terribly when he finally died. After that, Laenor went back to Driftmark, leaving Rhaenyra at court. This made many people wonder if the marriage was over. Ser Qarl Correy quickly became Laenor’s new favorite at High Tide.

Laenor and Rhaenyra didn’t spend much time together, but he went with her to big events at court when everyone expected him to be there. Even so, Rhaenyra’s pregnancy was soon made public, and she gave birth to their first child in the last few days of 114 AC. His father told Laenor he couldn’t name the child Joffrey, so he chose the name Jacaerys instead.

A year after that, Rhaenyra had a second boy. He was named Lucerys. Septon Eustace says that both Laenor and Ser Harwin Strong, who is said to be Rhaenyra’s boyfriend, were with her during the birth. Because neither of his boys by Rhaenyra looked like either Laenor or Rhaenyra, rumors spread about who their parents were.

The queen told Laenor to keep trying because “soon or late, you may get one who looks like you” when Lucerys was brought to court. Laenor was said to have visited Alicent “often” after Rhaenyra, who could take it no longer, went back to Dragonstone with Ser Harwin.

In the year 117 AC, Rhaenyra had her third boy. Laenor named him Joffrey in honor of Ser Joffrey Lonmouth. Because Joffrey didn’t have the Valyrian looks of Laenor and Rhaenyra, he too had a “common” look. This led to more reports that Ser Harwin Strong, not Laenor, had fathered all three children.

His Death and Legacy

Ser Qarl Correy, Laenor’s friend, killed him at a fair in Spicetown in the year 120 AC. Traders who were there said that the two men were fighting before the blades came out. Septon Eustace is adamant that Qarl killed Laenor because he was jealous that Laenor had become interested in a new, younger male hero. According to Mushroom, that Qarl killed Laenor for Prince Daemon Targaryen, but there was no proof for this.

His father, Lord Corlys, took Laenor’s body and offered 10,000 golden dragons as a prize to anyone who could find him or bring Ser Qarl to their son. When Laenor died, her burial was held at High Tide.

Four hundred and thirteen years ago, during a war called the Dance of the Dragons, Laenor’s three sons by Rhaenyra all died. During the Sowing of the Seeds, however, Marilda of Hull gave birth to her two boys, Addam and Alyn, saying they were Laenor’s scum.

Both boys looked a lot like Laenor, and Laenor was known to have visited the shipyard in Hull where Marilda worked on occasion. However, many people didn’t believe the story because they remembered that Laenor liked men more than women. However, Laenor’s father, Lord Corlys, was happy to take in his two grandkids, even though Mushroom says in his Testimony that Corlys, not Laenor, had fathered them.

No matter who the parents were, Corlys got Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen to recognize both boys as legitimate. Ada took Laenor’s dragon Seasmoke, during the Sowing.

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