Rhaenyra and Laenor's Wedding and Tourney joined the heir to the Iron Throne to the son of the powerful House Velaryon, but its public celebration became a turning point in court loyalties. The festivities lasted seven days; before they were over, Criston Cole had transferred his allegiance to Queen Alicent, Joffrey Lonmouth had died of injuries sustained in the lists, and a joyous occasion had become one of grief and recrimination.

Background and Marriage

In 114 AC, seventeen-year-old Rhaenyra Targaryen sailed to Driftmark aboard the Sea Snake with her handmaids, the fool Mushroom, and her new champion, Harwin Strong. She married Ser Laenor Velaryon, who had been knighted a fortnight earlier, since the match was considered to require a knight as prince consort. At twenty, Laenor was three years older than Rhaenyra, and the pair were regarded as a handsome couple.

The marriage also belonged to a broader royal effort to bind the conquered realm through noble marriages. Aegon I’s queens had arranged matches across the kingdoms, including alliances between rival houses; Rhaenyra and Laenor’s union likewise brought the heir to the throne together with the heir of a major maritime house. Yet the wedding’s public display of union could not settle the personal and political tensions gathering around the couple.

Feasts, Jousting, and Tokens

The wedding was marked by seven days of feasts and jousting, and its tourney was described as the greatest in many a year. Competitors included siblings of Queen Alicent, five sworn brothers of the Kingsguard, Harwin, and Laenor’s favorite, Ser Joffrey Lonmouth, known as the Knight of Kisses. The ceremony and tournament brought the royal household’s rival connections together in a public setting, where gestures of favor carried political weight.

During the festivities, Rhaenyra gave her garter to Harwin. Laenor laughed and gave one of his own to Joffrey. The exchange placed their respective favorites in view of the court, turning a conventional token of favor into a pointed contrast between the bride’s champion and the groom’s companion. The celebratory display did not itself explain the relationships behind it, but it formed the immediate setting for the violence that followed.

Criston Cole’s Violence

Denied Rhaenyra’s favor, Criston Cole instead wore Queen Alicent’s token. The young Lord Commander of the Kingsguard fought with such intensity that he defeated every challenger. Harwin was badly hurt, an episode that led Mushroom thereafter to call him Brokenbones. Cole’s fiercest attack fell on Joffrey: blows from his favored weapon, the morningstar, left Laenor’s champion unconscious and unable to recover.

Joffrey died six days later. Mushroom reports that Laenor remained at his bedside throughout those days and grieved bitterly after his death. The tournament’s reversal was stark: the event intended to honor a marriage ended with the groom mourning his favorite and the court confronting a death that had begun in the lists.

Courtly Aftermath and Significance

King Viserys was furious that the celebration had become an occasion for grief and recrimination. Alicent, by contrast, was said not to share his displeasure; soon afterward, she asked that Cole become her personal protector. His choice to wear her token and his subsequent place at her side made visible a change in allegiance: the princess’s former companion and champion had become one of her bitterest opponents, aligned with the queen’s party, the Greens.

Laenor returned to Driftmark, while Rhaenyra remained at court among her friends and admirers. Harwin took Cole’s place as the foremost champion of the Blacks, frequently at Rhaenyra’s side at courtly gatherings. Although Laenor attended important events where his presence was expected, he spent most of his days apart from Rhaenyra. The wedding therefore did not resolve the strains surrounding the royal household. Its ceremonial promise of alliance gave way to separation, bereavement, and a more visible division between the Greens and the Blacks.