Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) was all set to become the heir apparent in Episode 1 of House of the Dragon.
Everyone assumed that because he was male, he would step in to replace his older brother, King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine), who was yet to produce a living son in his marriage to Queen Aemma (Sian Brooke).
However, after Daemon mocked the King’s only-born son, who died within the same day, he was knocked from the line of succession, and Viserys’ daughter, Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock), was officially declared his heir.
In Episode 3, a slight time jump showed Viserys now married to Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey) and a son had now been produced in that union, pushing Daemon even further out of line for succession, were he still even in the running for it.
In addition to this, Daemon managed to defeat the Crabfeeder (Daniel Scott-Smith) and has now been crowned King of the Narrow Sea.
But will he ever be crowned the king of Westeros?
Prince Daemon believes he is the true heir
Right from the very first episode of House of the Dragon, Daemon, who is also Daenerys Targaryen’s great-great-great-great-great-great-great uncle, according to Metro, has believed that he is the one true heir to the Iron Throne.
This was definitely apparent in Episode 2 when Daemon took up residence at Dragonstone.
There, he declared he was the one true heir and stole a dragon egg. At the time, he stated it was so he could follow the Targaryen tradition of assigning an egg to any offspring.
Although, his mistress, Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno), was not even pregnant at the time.
And, according to tradition, should a male child not be born to the king, Daemon should certainly be considered next in line to the Iron Throne.
This was shown previously to set precedence over a female child born to the king in Episode 1 of House of the Dragon when Rhaenys (Eve Best) was overlooked even though she was the eldest child born to the previous king.
However, now a son has been born to King Viserys, and this places Daemon further down the line of succession, not that he sees it that way and is still pushing his own agenda when it comes to who should rule in Viserys’ place.
So, will he ever become the king?
Does Daemon end up becoming king in the book?
House of the Dragon is based on a book by George R. R. Martin called Fire and Blood, so readers will know what has happened already.
Those who do not wish to read potential spoilers from the books are advised to look away now. But for everyone else, let’s find out if Daemon ever rules in Westeros.
As previously reported by Monsters and Critics, Rhaenyra will actually become the queen of Westeros. However, it will only be for a short while.
As for Daemon?
Well, he will return to King’s Landing after being declared the King of the Narrow Sea, as hinted at in the trailer for Episode 4 of House of the Dragon. According to the books, Daemon will then mend the rift with his brother, King Viserys, by giving up this hard-won title.
He will then take a position on the small council.
Eventually, Daemon will wed his niece, Rhaenyra, putting him in the position of the king by marriage.
However, Daemon will never actually wind up as the king in his own right. Instead, he will help Rhaenyra claim her place after conflict arises following the death of King Viserys.
House of the Dragon airs every Sunday night at 9/8c on HBO Max.