How the Mad King treated Elia Martell and his grandchildren

Added: 2026-05-09

[00:00:00]So, the way that Aerys, the Mad King Targaryen, treated his grandkids was nothing short of appalling. He is not winning grand dad of the year. His son, Prince Rhaegar, eventually marries Elia of House Martell from Dorne, but before then, Rhaegar was a catch. Like, he was the guy that everyone wanted their daughter to be married to, and Aerys was obsessed with finding the perfect bride for his son. And there's a reason for this. He's highly motivated because he married his wife, Queen Rhaella, who also happens to be his sister. Say it with me, Targs going to Targ. He was told, "You've got no choice. You've got to marry your sister because the prince who was promised will come from their union." So, Aerys, the Mad King, he's in this miserable marriage. He and Rhaella, they don't get on, and he treats her appallingly. Like, he's vile to her. So, he's in this miserable marriage, but I feel like he justifies it to himself.

[00:01:05]Like, "I'm doing this. This is my sacrifice because the prince who was promised will come from our line." They had Prince Rhaegar, and then for a lot of years, they went through miscarriages and stillbirths and children living for a couple of days or weeks. For a long time, it was just Aerys, Rhaella, and Rhaegar. And it almost became like a hyperfixation for Aerys. At one point, he actually loses his best friend, Steffon Baratheon, in a drowning accident on a return journey from Essos to find a Valyrian bride for Rhaegar. Steffon and his wife, Cassana, drown in Shipbreaker's Bay. They are the parents of Robert, Stannis, and Renly Baratheon.

[00:01:52]So, Aerys lost his best friend because he'd sent him on this mission to find a suitable daughter-in-law. And they didn't even find anyone. At one point, Cersei thought she might get to marry Prince Rhaegar. Aerys and Tywin were formerly best friends, but things started to sour with them. Eventually, Elia Martell is chosen, and she marries Rhaegar in this big ceremony in King's Landing. It's at the Great Sept of Baelor. It's a big deal. This is the guy who's the heir to the throne. I mean, this is the future queen of the Seven Kingdoms. But, the Mad King does not even go to the wedding ceremony. Now, not all that long after getting married, Elia and Rhaegar have children. They have a daughter, Princess Rhaenys, and a son, Prince Aegon. Because the kids are half Dornish, Aerys takes issue. He takes umbrage with that. When Princess Rhaenys was born, she apparently had like more of a Martell look about her.

[00:02:55]So, he's like, "Mhm, >> [clears throat] >> she smells Dornish." And it was said in the most derogatory, disparaging way.

[00:03:02]What's interesting is Queen Rhaella, she seemed to be thrilled to be a grandmother, like over the moon. She was accepting them This is brilliant addition to the family. This is all great. But, Aerys is the opposite. He's not interested at all. He wasn't much of a father figure, let alone a grandfather figure. He was always so distracted by his own paranoia. He sees danger everywhere. He slowly becomes more isolated than ever.

[00:03:31]He doesn't trust the old people he used to be around. He's only surrounded by lickspittles. So, it makes it very difficult for Aerys to get perspective.

[00:03:42]And he takes all of this out on his family. He wasn't focusing on being a very good king. He wasn't ruling the realm. That was always being left to the hand. and he wasn't a very present or affectionate or seemingly caring husband or father. And I think it's notable that by the time the grandkids were born, the mad king looked like this. He had long matted hair. He didn't bathe very often.

[00:04:11]He was covered in scabs that he would always pick. He was like nicknamed the scab king. His nails were long and dirty. Like if they brought the kids in to see granddad, the kids would be traumatized. Like, what the hell? Given that Aerys and Rhaella lost so many children of their own, you'd think in a rational mind that Aerys would be grateful, would be thrilled to have some new additions to the family, but he doesn't seem to see it that way. Rhaella seems to see it as a blessing, but not Aerys. It all kind of comes to a head when Robert's Rebellion happens, when Rhaegar falls on the trident. Aerys had allowed Rhaella and Viserys to leave. They could go to Dragonstone to safety, but he would not allow Elia and the grandkids to leave the Red Keep. They were not allowed to leave to go to safety, to go to their family in Dorne. And on top of that, nobody, neither Aerys nor Rhaegar, provided any protection, any guards for Elia and the kids. They were just left high and dry, and they were easy pickings. During the Sack of King's Landing, the Mountain and Amory Lorch, essentially, they just sort of stroll in. There's nobody posted at the door.

[00:05:32]There's nobody to stop them from harming and and eventually killing Elia and her kids. By that point, Aerys knew the walls were closing in. He could have let Elia and the kids go. He could have allowed them to be shuttled off to Dorne where they would have been safe. But, he doesn't. He keeps them in King's Landing, and he doesn't send anyone to look after them or to protect them. And I think that says it all. I do want to end with a mention of the character Young Griff. We didn't see this character on Game of Thrones, but in the books, he believes he really is Prince Aegon, that he survived, and he was scuttled away, and he's been living in exile, and now he's back. Whether he actually is Prince Aegon, I don't know.

[00:06:18]I feel in my gut like he's not. Like he's being used. But, it doesn't really matter whether I believe it. Young Griff believes he is really Prince Aegon, and that he's going to take back the Iron Throne. But, if that's you, would you feel resentment towards your house? Like, I would. I feel a kind of way. Like, I am a Targaryen. I'll take the Iron Throne back for my house, but also my granddad was a Targaryen king who left me high and dry, and my sister, and my mother. I would feel some kind of way about the Targaryen name, because when the Sack of King's Landing happened, it didn't seem to matter to the Mad King that these were his grandkids.