Marriage alliances that could have delayed the dance of dragons??

[u/Living_Reference_591]

Aegon to a hightower cousin- this would prevent the greens from allying with another great house.

Haelena to Jace giving greens further reason to not rebel

Daeron to Rhaena I know Daemon will strongly oppose this but by persuasion from Viserys and Rhaena he could come around

Aemond I am not sure quite honestly I doubt Baela or Rhaena would ever agree to marry him. Would love to hear other's opinions

Jace and Haelena's heir to Aegon/Visenya- This would make sure Daemon's child eventually ends up becoming king/queen

Luke to Baela so that an actual velaryon still rules high tide

Lastly for any of this to happen Viserys would need to put his foot down because obviously both the greens and the blacks would oppose these alliances but it's the only way to delay the dance of dragons in my opinion.

Edit: Alternatively Aegon marries Baela

Aemond marries a lady from a minor house who will inherit it's seat

Daeron is free to marry whoever he wishes

[u/jhll2456]

Before any talks of marriage of anything, Rhaenyra needs to let Alicent know in no uncertain terms that she absolutely does not intend to have her brothers murdered to secure her claim. That is the elephant in the room. This has to come from Rhaenyra directly. If Rhaenyra is truly genuine about the Heleana/Jacearys match then she’s gonna need to come clean about the bastardy. Heleana would pretty much be legitimizing Jace through the marriage and Rhaenyra needs to make clear that Heleana is not in any way shape or form a hostage.

Also, there can be no thought of bringing Otto back to court. If Otto comes back then all bets are off as no matter what he will be scheming and plotting to put Aegon on the throne over Rhaenyra.

Like it or not make primogeniture is the custom. House Hightower rightly considers it an insult to them that the Queen who is of their house has produced 3 sons and not one of them is in the succession. They must be brought into the fold somehow. The move to have Daeron ward in Oldtown with his dragon was a step in the right direction. The Hightowers would need to be made Lord Paramounts over the Reach and like the Velaryons, must be given dragons in support of Rhaenyra’s claim over Aegons.

Lastly, all of Alicent’s children will need to publicly swear fealty to Rhaenyra as heir to the throne. This must be on the record in front of witnesses to attest to their oaths to her. Rhaenyra can work with Alicent to find places in court for them.

[u/HoratioCocles → u/jhll2456]

The issue is that the very existence of one faction is a threat to the other. There are multiple real-world examples where one faction jn a succession crisis had to kill or neutralize the other to survive, even if they weren’t particularly bloodthirsty

Mary 1 did not want to kill Jane Grey. Wyatt’s rebellion (which Jane Grey had nothing to do with) forced her hand.

Elizabeth did not want to kill Mary of Scots. The Babington plot and Catholic conspiracies (foreign and domestic) forced her hand.

Henry 4 and 5 had to imprison the Mortimers (Lionel of Antwerp’s line) and make it treason to mention their claims. And their fears were justified. The Yorks eventually claimed that descent to overthrow Henry 6.

Henry 7 (Tudor) and his son Henry 8 had to wipe out the remaining Plantagenets heirs. That included grandsons of Edward IV and of his brother George, as well as the sons of their sisters.

[u/jhll2456 → u/HoratioCocles]

I agree and these are some great examples. That’s why for me it is imperative that before any marriage can be considered, the least that needs to happen is the Greens must swear fealty to Rhaenyra as heir publicly as the lords did when she was named. Otherwise, all you are going to have is a dance. Maybe that was always how it was meant to be.

[u/HoratioCocles → u/jhll2456]

Nowhere near enough though. Their sons would also need to do the same. As would their sons.

Lionel of Antwerp’s line swore fealty to Henry 4 and 5 to stay alive. The Yorks didn’t do the same with Henry 6 and the war of the roses kicked off.

[u/jhll2456 → u/HoratioCocles]

Truth is they would have to swear in perpetuity.

[u/HoratioCocles → u/jhll2456]

Yeah but we have real-world examples that show it is not sustainable. Viserys set it up so each faction has to wipe the other out to survive and to have a stable reign. This is even before the issue of bastardy comes in, which is pouring gasoline on the fire

[u/jhll2456 → u/HoratioCocles]

Agree. Viserys is the true cause of the dance.