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| Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, the Last Dragon |
Rhaegar Targaryen
If I could sum up the character of Rhaegar Targaryen it would be: brooding musician and prophecy enthusiast.
Rhaegar has been described as kind, clever, loved by the common people, but there was always a sadness surrounding him and he was a very private person. He was born during the tragedy at Summerhall, a Targaryen palace that was consumed by flames. As a child, the prince loved to read. One day he comes across a book containing a prophecy about a "prince that was promised." A prince that would be born from the blood of Aerys and Rhaella. The next day Rhaegar goes to the knights and says "It seems I must be a warrior." One can only assume that Rhaegar Targaryen believed he was that Promised Prince. Why else would he decide to start training to become one of the greatest warriors in Westeros? The prince preferred art to the ways of war. Reportedly Rhaegar abhorred violence but he had a sense of duty that made him overcome that abhorrence because he may have to fight some great evil and you can't throw books at it. However, eventually Rhaegar figures he isn't the Promised Prince. Not sure when or why he starts thinking that but he does.
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| Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell |
Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell
Aerys II, Rhaegar's father, starts showing signs of madness driving a wedge between father and son. The Targaryens were few now. Only two Targaryen Sons with no sister to marry. Aerys sends Steffon Baratheon (a Targaryen cousin) to Essos to look for a bride for Rhaegar of pure, noble Valyrian blood but Steffon never found one (Valyrian blood is very much present in Essos but no one is marrying their sibling so the lines are not pure). Rhaegar was left with marrying the princess Elia Martell of Dorne. Elia was beautiful, soft spoken but kind and clever. By all accounts Elia and Rhaegar were a happy couple. There's no report in all their years of marriage of any wedge or strife that would suggest an unhappy union. Before Lyanna there was no sign or report of Rhaegar ever cheating on Elia. Even before Rhaegar wasn't much of a womanizer. I think Rhaegar confided in Elia about the prophecy he read as a child, which set his course. Elia was in delicate health. After their first child, Rhaenys, Elia was bedridden for a year. After Aegon (who was born after the Tourney at Harrenhal I think...) she almost died and the maesters said Elia would never be able to have more children. But Rhaegar needed three heads for the dragon.
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| He should start a boy band |
Rhaegar exchanged ravens with Maester Aemon saying that he believed his son Aegon was the "Prince that was Promised". In Dany's vision (in the books) at the House of the Undying she sees a man with silver hair and indigo eyes (suggesting Rhaegar) who said "The dragon must have 3 heads." Rhaegar named his first 2 children after the first Targaryens to conquer Westeros 300 years ago. I'm sure Rhaegar was expecting another girl if Elia had been able to produce another baby (I say this because of some R+L=D theories which I won't get into now). So what is Rhaegar to do? Elia was probably in on the abduction. It seems to me she and Rhaegar were very close. He may not have been in love with her but they had a bond so it's not unreasonable to think that maybe she even encouraged Rhaegar to abduct Lyanna and make her his second wife so he could have that fated third child. Elia is from Dorne. That place is very liberal when it comes to sexuality. Why Oberyn would think Elia would be offended still doesn't make sense to me. Then again he is her brother but we really didn't get Elia's reaction to Rhaegar giving Lyanna the crown of winter roses. "All smiles died" suggesting that she was surprised but I'm sure Rhaegar explained it to her later.
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| Lyanna Stark |
Lyanna Stark
As for Lyanna Stark's psychological profile I would say she was a typical rebellious teenager. She was wild, strong, fierce, some would even say she had wolf-blood in her. She was beautiful sure but Rhaegar saw underneath that unlike Robert Baratheon who was obsessed with her. No one really knows why Rhaegar presented Lyanna with the Crown of Love and Beauty. Some say he was trying to win the North over but it seems unlikely. It just doesn't seem like something Rhaegar would do to try and win over a lord of the North, family known for its high value on honor. A married man that appears to be flirting with your 16 year old daughter doesn't sound like a smart way to gain his favor. There are better more discreet ways for a prince to gain Lord Stark's support. So this leads to the theory that Lyanna may have been the mysterious Knight of the Laughing Tree that unhorsed 3 knights then disappeared (read about the event on a wikia page). Rhaegar could have discovered that Lyanna was the Knight and the crown was his way of giving her due honor for her victory. Either way it was an important enough of an event for Lyanna that she kept the crown. When Ned found her Lyanna was holding dead black, blue rose petals suggesting she held onto her prize.
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| Come and take a ride with me |
As to the abduction Lyanna and Rhaegar could have exchanged letters becoming friends or at the Tourney they had some conversation about her engagement. An engagement she wasn't thrilled about. But if they exchanged letters someone would have noted on either side about how many letters Lyanna was sending via ravens. A maester at least would have noticed. Robert was in love with Lyanna's beauty more than he was in love with her. It was nice to have someone see that she had the heart of a warrior and not just a pretty face. Especially if it was a prince saying this to her. Lyanna was a teenage girl and teenage girls aren't known for making sound decisions. If you were a girl and a handsome prince came up to you saying how the 2 of you were part of some prophecy you would fall into his arms wouldn't you? I would!
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| Who wouldn't want to be taken away by a handsome magical prince? |
But why would Lyanna choose Rhaegar? A married man when she had reservations about marrying Robert, a serial womanizer? Well if you were a teenage girl who met a handsome prince who told you that you were both meant to fulfill a prophecy wouldn't you go? Of course because you're a teenage girl and teenage girls aren't known for making logical decisions because of hormones!
Rhaegar never cheated on Elia. If she was able to give him a third child for the third dragon head then I doubt this plan would have happened. Rhaegar took Lyanna who may not have been expecting the abduction and once he took her to the Tower of Joy explaining why it's likely that Lyanna agreed to the whole thing. It's extremely possible that Rhaegar married Lyanna (making any child born of this union legitimate heirs). Targaryens had practiced polygamy before and if Rhaegar wanted another dragon head he would need for the child to be legitimate so he/she could help complete the dragon trinity. Now it's around this time I think Rhaegar fell in love with Lyanna. Before it was perhaps he just liked her for her courage and ferocity but after getting to know her he developed romantic feelings as Lyanna had for him. Lyanna soon after got pregnant and Rhaegar saw the prophecy finally coming to fruition.
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| This is far more likely to have happened |
So yes I believe the most likely of theories is that Rhaegar and Lyanna were in love and ran away together. What Rhaegar didn't count on was his insane father murdering his new beloved's father and older brother kick starting a rebellion. He certainly didn't imagine Robert would kill him on the battlefield. At the Tower of Joy, Ser Arthur Dayne (Rhaegar's closest friend) and a few other knights guarded the pregnant Lyanna. It's more than likely Rhaegar confided in Ser Arthur about the prophecy and the few other knights there which is why they were dead set on protecting the place. They had no way of knowing if Ned would harm the baby or not so of course they would defend the stronghold with their lives even after Rhaegar's death.
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| Why couldn't it have been Robert that died?! |
This is just all speculation but I believe human behavior is important to notice when creating theories. Rhaegar didn't abduct Lyanna out of lust or because he was unhappy in his marriage. He more likely abducted her to help him fulfill a prophecy to help stop the end of the world!
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| The event that started it all... |
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