- Warning: Spoilers ahead for HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”
- Jon Snow is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark.
- Since Rhaegar was Daenerys Targaryen’s older brother, that means Jon Snow is her nephew.
- Neither of them knew this when they started having sex.
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After decades of fan theories and mysterious clues dropped on HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” the series revealed Jon Snow to be the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark.
That means Daenerys Targaryen is Jon Snow’s aunt.
To help show how House Stark and House Targaryena are related, we’ve broken down the two family trees with a clear label for Jon Snow’s parents.
Prince Rhaegar was the son of the Mad King Aerys, and older brother to Daenerys and Viserys Targaryen. Lyanna was the only daughter of Rickard Stark, and sister to Ned, Benjen, and Brandon. This graphic should give you a clear sense for how Jon fits into the two greatest families of Westeros:
Since Ned Stark is Jon's uncle, that makes Sansa, Arya, and Bran his cousins (not half-siblings, as they all believed).
Rickon is still alive in the books, and almost all of the characters have been aged up by a few years for the show. The birth and death dates listed are from George R.R. Martin's original book series. Years in Westeros are marked A.C. for "Aegon's Conquest" or "After the Conquest."
As the seventh season finale revealed, Jon Snow's birth name is Aegon Targaryen, Sixth of His Name. The first Aegon Targaryen was the same one who conquered Westeros and whose namesake is in the year markings.
Read more: Why Jon Snow's 'real' name is so confusing for some fans
Incest is relatively commonplace in the Targaryen family tree, but some fans think Jon and Daenerys' shared blood will be an issue if and when they both learn the truth.
Though both Rhaegar and Lyanna are mysterious figures, there is some historical information we know about them from Martin's book series. But we'll have to wait for the eighth and final season of "Game of Thrones" to see how much of that backstory will be included on HBO's adaptation.
- Read more:
- Everything we know about the mysterious Rhaegar Targaryen
- Everything we know about Jon Snow's rebellious real mother Lyanna Stark
- 'Game of Thrones' has been hinting at Jon Snow's true parentage since season one - here's every clue we spotted
- Why 'Game of Thrones' fans have always been torn about the idea of Jon and Daenerys falling in love
