Poisoning of Aegon II

The poisoning of Aegon II ended a reign defined by civil war and turned a concealed coup into a change of kingship. The hand that placed poison in his wine was never identified, but the account is certain that the murder was carried out at Larys Strong’s behest. Aegon died in his litter on the way to the castle sept; two days later, Corlys Velaryon proclaimed Aegon III king before the arriving host, and the war was declared over.

Succession and the Hidden Coup

The succession crisis that fed the Dance of the Dragons had deep roots. When Prince Aemon died, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen passed over Aemon’s daughter, Rhaenys Targaryen, and named Aemon’s brother Baelon heir. The king’s decision followed established practice, but Rhaenys and her husband, Corlys Velaryon, opposed it, as did Queen Alysanne, who considered the exclusion of her granddaughter unjust. The unresolved dispute survived Baelon: after his death, the Great Council of 101 AC chose Viserys Targaryen over Rhaenys’s son, Laenor. Its overwhelming vote was widely treated as a precedent against a woman inheriting the Iron Throne or transmitting a claim to her descendants.

That precedent did not settle every later contest. Ser Otto Hightower argued that Rhaenyra should succeed Viserys, while also opposing the king’s brother, Daemon Targaryen, whom he feared would become a ruler like Maegor. Yet the male-succession principle established at the Great Council stood in the background of the conflict. By the time Aegon II’s day was ending, the war had left the crown’s future vulnerable to secret action as much as to battle. The turncloaks around Aegon had set their plan in motion after learning of Lord Baratheon’s defeat on the kingsroad.

The King’s Last Journey

After a council meeting, two strong squires carried Aegon down to the yard. His withered leg made steps difficult even with a crutch, and his litter was waiting as usual. Ser Gyles Belgrave, the Kingsguard knight commanding the escort, later testified that the king seemed unusually tired, his face grey and sagging. Rather than ask to be taken back to his chambers, Aegon directed the party to the castle sept. Septon Eustace suggested that he might have sensed his end and wanted to pray, but this was an interpretation, not an established explanation for his choice.

A cold wind blew across the yard, and Aegon closed the litter curtains against it. Inside was a flagon of sweet Arbor red, his favorite wine. As the litter crossed the yard, he drank a small cup. Neither Gyles nor the bearers suspected anything was wrong until they reached the sept. Gyles announced their arrival, then repeated the call twice; no answer came. When he drew back the curtains, the king was dead on the cushions. Gyles reported blood on Aegon’s lips, though otherwise he might have appeared to be sleeping.

The Poison and Its Uncertain Hand

The substance used and the person who put it in the wine remained disputed. Some suspected Gyles, but the account considers it unthinkable that a Kingsguard knight would kill the king he had sworn to protect. Ummet, Aegon’s food taster, was offered as a more plausible possible intermediary, though the story that he was murdered comes from Mushroom, whose account is treated with skepticism. No evidence in the account identifies the actual hand that administered the poison. Its conclusion is instead about responsibility: Larys Strong had ordered the killing.

This distinction matters to the event’s political meaning. The manner of Aegon’s death was concealed and its mechanics uncertain, while the account attributes the decision to a figure directing events behind the scenes. The poisoning was not presented as a public judgment or an open defeat in battle. It removed the king while the turncloaks were already acting, and left those around the throne to make the transfer of power appear settled.

A Crown Changes Hands

Aegon was the firstborn son of Viserys I Targaryen and Alicent Hightower. He lived twenty-four years and reigned for two. His rule was brief and bitter, and his death came before the forces gathered against his side had reached King’s Landing. Two days after the killing, the vanguard of Lord Tully’s host appeared before the city walls. Corlys rode out to meet it with Prince Aegon at his side and announced that the king was dead and the new king would live.

Across Blackwater Bay, in the Gullet, Leowyn Corbray watched Velaryon warships lower Aegon’s golden dragon and raise the red dragon flown by Targaryen kings before the Dance began. The change of banner made visible what the death had accomplished: Aegon II’s reign was finished, and Aegon III stood as king. The war was over, though the peace that followed would not remain peaceful. The poisoning therefore closed one phase of the succession struggle without undoing the rival claims and political divisions that had made it possible.