Aegon II's loyalists

Aegon II's loyalists, commonly called the Greens, were the political and military faction gathered around Aegon II and Queen Alicent during the struggle for the Iron Throne. They translated a disputed inheritance into a kingship through precedent, ceremony, and control of royal resources, but their coalition proved fragile: when battlefield losses left them without clear leadership, ambition among their own commanders and the weakness of their wider support hastened their collapse.

Claim and political foundations

The Greens' claim emerged against the background of the Great Council of 101 AC, whose lords chose Viserys over Rhaenys by a reported margin of more than twenty to one. The precedent was widely understood to bar a woman from inheriting the Iron Throne and to bar inheritance through a woman to her male descendants. Otto Hightower invoked that rule when considering the succession: in the absence of a trueborn son, he believed, the king's brother would precede the king's daughter. Yet his own position had not always been opposition to Rhaenyra. He had once favored her as heir over Daemon, whom he feared would become another Maegor. That earlier calculation shows how the faction's eventual alignment grew from shifting court politics as well as from a stated principle of succession.

When Aegon II was crowned, the Greens made their claim public and sacred as well as political. Criston Cole placed the iron-and-ruby crown of Aegon the Conqueror on Aegon's head; Septon Eustace anointed him in the name of the Seven. Alicent placed her own crown on her daughter Helaena, Aegon's wife and sister, then knelt and addressed her as queen. The ceremony presented the new king as the center of an established royal household, even as defections from the Kingsguard had already begun.

Court, money, and alliances

The Greens moved quickly to secure the machinery of rule. Tyland Lannister replaced the late Lord Beesbury as master of coin and divided the royal treasury into four portions: one was entrusted to the Iron Bank of Braavos, one sent under guard to Casterly Rock, one to Oldtown, and the remainder reserved for gifts, bribes, and the possible hiring of sellswords. The distribution placed royal wealth beyond a single vulnerable storehouse while making clear that money and purchased allegiance would be vital to the coming conflict.

The faction also sought to strengthen itself at sea. Otto approached Dalton Greyjoy with an offer of the admiralty and a seat on the council in exchange for his allegiance. The approach reflected the importance of naval power: the Greens needed support from the Iron Islands to counter House Velaryon's strength at sea. These arrangements, however, depended on allies whose interests were their own; an offer of office could solicit allegiance but could not ensure it would endure.

Division at Tumbleton

The Greens' military coalition was badly exposed when news reached Tumbleton that Aemond Targaryen had died at Harrenhal. Aegon II had not been seen or heard from since Rhaenyra took King's Landing, and some feared she had secretly killed him. With both Aegon and Aemond absent, the faction had no settled leader. Daeron stood next in the line of succession, but the question of whether to proclaim him Prince of Dragonstone or king remained contested.

The dispute became a direct challenge to Daeron's authority. Hugh Hammer rejected the prospect of following a boy and claimed the throne for himself, asserting that a dragon gave him a conqueror's right. He rode Vermithor, the Old King's former dragon, then the largest living dragon in Westeros and three times the size of Daeron's Tessarion. Hugh's claim therefore rested not only on personal ambition but on a visible military advantage. Ulf White shared the need for a king but did not want Daeron; both men had already made their support conditional on receiving what they demanded. Their followers included sellswords and robber knights attracted to battle and plunder, and some treated the prophecy that a hammer would smash the dragon as a sign of Hugh's destined victory.

Daeron's anger at Hugh's pretensions did nothing to mend the breach. After Daeron threw wine in Hugh's face, Hugh threatened him; the Two Betrayers then left together to plan Hugh's coronation. By the following day Hugh wore a black-iron crown. The episode turned a dispute over succession into an open rival kingship within the Green host, revealing how quickly the faction's military strength could become a source of internal danger.

Defeat and failure of support

After Rhaenyra's death, the Greens still did not secure peace. Aegon II might have weakened the remaining opposition by accepting Corlys Velaryon's advice to grant a general pardon to those who had supported her. Instead, urged on by Alicent, he chose vengeance. His forces compelled several Crownlands lords to submit, took them in chains to King's Landing, and demanded ransoms and hostages even after they had changed their banners. The campaign hardened resistance rather than dissolving it: renewed forces gathered in the North and the riverlands.

The loyalists' remaining council then faced the military consequences of that resistance. Casterly Rock, Highgarden, and Oldtown were slow to answer Aegon's call for more troops, and their replies offered excuses instead of firm promises. The Lannisters were occupied by war against Dalton Greyjoy; the Hightowers had lost too many men and lacked capable commanders; and the mother of the young Lord Tyrell questioned whether his bannermen would obey her. Meanwhile, envoys sent across the Narrow Sea to find sellswords had not returned. Against advancing riverlords and the approaching Northmen, the Greens had few dependable reserves. Corlys advised Aegon to surrender and take the black, warning that King's Landing could not endure another sack. The loyalists' final predicament thus echoed their earlier weakness: ceremony and royal command could assert a claim, but neither could substitute for a coalition whose allies were willing and able to fight.