Rhaegar Targaryen

Intro Prince Rhaegar Targaryen was the eldest son and heir of King Aerys II and his sister/wife, Queen Raila. Over time, this led to the appearance of signs of madness in the Targaryen family, Rhaegar's father Aerys II, who went down in history as the Mad King. Aerys II's reign began promisingly, but over the years he became more and more immersed in madness and paranoia. By that time, Prince Rhaegar was already showing great promise as the future heir to the throne, and most of the courtiers were willing to tolerate Aerys' eccentricity and the rest of his reign, waiting for Rhaegar to succeed him on the Iron Throne. Rhaegar was brave, kind, and wise, and most looked forward to the golden age that would surely begin with his ascension to the throne. While Aerys II was increasingly losing his mind, Rhaegar couldn't bring himself to go against his own father. Rhaegar had every reason to believe that the Small Council would be able to keep the kingdom from disintegrating, despite his father's madness, because it was led by the experienced Tywin Lannister, who had served as the hand of Aerys for almost twenty years. Tywin managed royal affairs so well that he brought Westeros two decades of peace and abundance, with most of the kingdom's inhabitants unaware of the king's madness until the last years of his reign. Since Aerys and Raila didn't have any daughters that Rhaegar could marry, he had to look for a bride outside the family. Many assumed that as a reward for Tywin's long and distinguished service as Aerys' chief advisor, the bond between the Targaryens and the Lannisters would be cemented by a marriage alliance between Prince Rhaegar and Tywin's daughter Cersei, who had been in love with Rhaegar for some time. Ayrys, to Tywin's surprise, rejected the offer, making it clear that he did not consider Cersei a worthy match. It is believed that Aerys acted in a fit of paranoia, believing that Tywin was trying to usurp the throne. Rhaegar has completely different plans.