House of the Dragon will finally showcase House Velaryon, whose history and family tree often overlap with the Targaryens. While House Velaryon will be one of the three most important families in House of the Dragon, the noble line was almost entirely cut from Game of Thrones, with no Velaryon character appearing on screen. However, this will be a completely different story in House of the Dragon, which will highlight the power of Corlys Velaryon, a.k.a the Sea Snake, his wife Rhaenys Targaryen, and their descendants’ political marriages in the Targaryen family tree.
House Velaryon descends from Old Valyria like the Targaryens, which is why the two families were such close allies throughout Westerosi history. However, House Velaryon was never a dragonlord family like the Targaryens, with the former house excelling at the sea instead. If the Velaryon stories can be believed, the family arrived in Westeros before the Targaryens, settling in Driftmark rather than the nearby Dragonstone. Nonetheless, after the Targaryens arrived with their dragons in Westeros, House Velaryon was a major ally in Aegon’s conquest of Westeros. The two families’ close relationship continued as the Targaryens married many Velaryons, which was partially due to the dragonriding family’s desire to keep their Valyrian blood “pure.” House Velaryon is also notable for almost exclusively serving as the master of ships on Targaryen small councils.
With House of the Dragon marking the Velaryons’ first on-screen appearances, there has been unfounded controversy about Corlys Velaryon and his descendants being Black. While some fans believed House Velaryon to be white due to their Valyrian blood, Corlys’ skin color was never actually mentioned in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood book. Considering the true history and impact of Driftmark's rulers will finally be explored in depth during House of the Dragon, here’s a guide to House Velaryon’s family tree to help keep track of the key players.
Valaena Velaryon
The first Velaryon character with incredible significance to Game of Thrones’ larger story is Valaena Velaryon, whose mother was a Targaryen. Valaena went on to marry Aerion Targaryen, with whom she had three children: Visenya, Aegon, and Rhaenys Targaryen. Valaena Velaryon was thus the mother of the three members of the historic House Targaryen who conquered Westeros, with her son Aegon the Conqueror becoming the first king to sit on the Iron Throne. While it was a Valyrian custom for siblings to marry, Aegon ended up marrying and having children with both of his sisters. Valaena was also a relative of Daemon Velaryon, but Game of Thrones’ books don’t make it clear exactly how they’re connected in the Velaryon family tree.
Daemon Velaryon (Aegon’s Conquest)
Daemon Velaryon was one of the closest friends and allies of House Targaryen at the time of the conquest. It was Daemon’s ships and crew that helped bring Targaryen soldiers across Blackwater Bay to take Westeros. As a reward, Daemon was named the first master of ships for Aegon the Conqueror. The Game of Thrones world’s Daemon Velaryon had two sons: Aethan and Corlys. Aethan Velaryon succeeded him as Lord of the Tides upon Daemon’s death in the battle in the waters off Gulltown in 2 AC, while Corlys became the first Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.
Aethan Velaryon
Aethan Velaryon was the eldest son of Daemon and the second master of ships for King Aegon I Targaryen. Aethan continued to serve as master of ships and the Lord of the Tides when Aegon’s son, Aenys I Targaryen, ascended the Iron Throne. Aethan died sometime between 42 and 47 AC, passing away during the reign of King Maegor the Cruel. The historic Game of Thrones character married Alarra Massey and had several children, including Daemon Velaryon (named after Aethan’s father) and Alyssa Velaryon, who married King Aenys I Targaryen. Alyssa’s children included King Jaehaerys I Targaryen and his sister-wife Queen Alysanne Targaryen from her first marriage and Boremund Baratheon from her second marriage. As such, the members of House Targaryen and House Baratheon from Game of Thrones’ timeline descend from Aethan Velaryon.
Daemon Velaryon
Following his father Aethan’s death, Daemon became the leader of House Velaryon during the reigns of King Maegor Targaryen and his own nephew King Jaehaerys I Targaryen. Serving as master of ships for both, Daemon Velaryon also became the Hand of the King during Jaehaerys’ reign. However, Daemon resigned from office and returned to Driftmark to spend time with his family, which came after the death of his sister Alyssa. Daemon Velaryon had several children but outlived them all, particularly after they died during the Shivers outbreak in 58 AC. The historic Game of Thrones figure passed away sometime between 88 and 90 AC, after which he was succeeded by his grandson, House of the Dragon’s Corlys Velaryon.
Corlys Velaryon
Corlys Velaryon will be a major character in House of the Dragon’s Targaryen civil war story, but is best known for his exploits at sea before the Game of Thrones prequel series’ timeline. Having become a captain at age 16, Corlys became famous for his nine voyages to Essos, which saw him massively grow the wealth and power of House Velaryon. Corlys, nicknamed the Sea Snake, also went down in history as the first Westerosi to sail the Thousand Islands and visit N’ghai and Mossovy. Following the death of his grandfather, Corlys became the Master of Driftmark and later master of ships, around which time he married House of the Dragon’s character Rhaenys Targaryen, the daughter of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen’s eldest son Aemon. Corlys and Rhaenys had two children, Laenor and Laena, who both married heirs to King Viserys I Targaryen.
Corlys Velaryon’s son Laenor married Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the daughter and declared heir to King Viserys. The two had three children who all died in the Dance of the Dragons, but they were rumored to have actually been fathered by Harwin Strong rather than Laenor, who died in 120 AC. Corlys’ daughter Laena Targaryen married King Viserys’ brother Daemon, with whom she had two daughters, Baela and Rhaena, before dying in 120 AC. During the Dance of the Dragons, Corlys supported the claim of Rhaenyra Targaryen over her younger half-brother Aegon II Targaryen. Following the deaths of his children, Corlys helped search for more “dragonseeds” to tame the Targaryens’ riderless dragons, which yielded two bastard sons of Laenor, Addam and Alyn of Hull, who were heavily implied to actually be fathered by Corlys himself. House of the Dragon’s Sea Snake served as one of the regents for Rhaenyra’s son King Aegon III Targaryen before dying at age 79 in 132 AC.
Vaemond Velaryon
While Vaemond Velaryon is Corlys’ nephew in the Fire & Blood book, House of the Dragon changed the character to be Corlys’ younger brother. Vaemond had two sons, Daemion and Daeron Velaryon, who all challenged the succession of Driftmark upon the rumors of the illegitimacy of Laenor Velaryon’s sons with Rhaenyra Targaryen. For his remarks, House of the Dragon’s Rhaenyra had Vaemond decapitated and his body fed to her dragon. Following Vaemond’s death, some of his nephews, including Rhogar Velaryon, brought their claims to the ill King Viserys I Targaryen, who cut out their tongues. Rhogar and his brothers eventually conspired to assassinate Corlys’ named heir, the legitimized Alyn Velaryon, with Rhogar being captured and sent to the Night’s Watch.
Laenor Velaryon
The eldest son of the Sea Snake and Rhaenys Targaryen was House of the Dragon’s Laenor Velaryon, a dragonrider who married Rhaenyra Targaryen in 114 AC. However, Laenor was all but confirmed to be gay in Fire & Blood, which heavily contributed to the rumors that his and Rhaenyra’s three sons, Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey, were actually fathered by her sworn shield Harwin Strong. Laenor was killed in 120 AC by his friend Qarl Corbray in Spicetown. After Laenor’s death, Alyn and Addam of Hull claimed to be his bastard sons, with Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen granting Corlys’ request to legitimize them as Velaryons after the deaths of her sons.
Alyn Velaryon
Since Addam died in 130 AC during the Targaryen civil war, House of the Dragon’s Alyn Velaryon succeeded his grandfather Corlys (or father, if the rumors are true) as Lord of the Tides. Alyn Oakenfist married Baela Targaryen, the daughter of Laena Velaryon and Daemon Targaryen, with whom he had an unspecified number of children. The historic Game of Thrones character served as master of ships for King Aegon III Targaryen and rescued the future King Viserys II Targaryen from captivity in Lys.
Alyn lost much of House Velaryon’s wealth to the Rogare bank but continued to serve as master of ships under Aegon the Broken King, with the character disappearing at sea sometime around 175 AC. It’s unclear who succeeded Alyn as leader of House Velaryon, though his heir is assumed to be an unnamed son with Baela. Alyn also had two bastard children with Princess Elaena Targaryen, one of whom, Jon Waters, began Games of Thrones’ House Longwaters.
Lucerys Velaryon
The next known descendant of Game of Thrones’ House Velaryon is Lucerys, who served as Master of Driftmark and master of ships during the reign of Aerys “The Mad King” Targaryen. While Lucerys was a strong supporter of King Aerys, he notably spoke ill of his son Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. It’s unclear when exactly Lucerys Velaryon died before Game of Thrones’ timeline and how he’s related to his successors, but it’s assumed that he died during the momentous Robert’s Rebellion.
Monford Velaryon
Monford Velaryon is the leader of House Velaryon at the beginning of Game of Thrones’ timeline, but he was never featured as a character in the HBO series. The Game of Thrones figure supported Stannis Baratheon’s claim to the Iron Throne, where he died during the Battle of the Blackwater. Monford’s half-brother is the bastard Aurane Waters, who is named master of ships by Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones’ books.
Monterys Velaryon
Around 200 years after House of the Dragon’s timeline, the leader of House Velaryon is Monford’s young son. Monterys Velaryon becomes Lord of the Tides at only 6 years old in 299 AC, with this being the most information Game of Thrones gives on the unseen character.