Coup in King's Landing

A coup was staged in King's Landing by the Greens at the start of the Dance of the Dragons in 132 AC, resulting in Prince Aegon Targaryen succeeding his father, King Viserys I Targaryen, over his designated heir, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen.
==History==
===Prelude===
In 112 AC, the lords of the Seven Kingdoms were made to swear oaths of fealty to Rhaenyra Targaryen as the named heir of King Viserys I. The next year, however, Viserys fathered a son, Aegon, on his second wife Alicent Hightower, and as the years passed most of the lords who swore oaths to Rhaenyra died.
Over the course of Viserys's reign, two rival factions emerged in the royal court: the Blacks and the Greens. Both factions competed with one another for influence in court and rallied behind the king's eldest children, Rhaenyra and Aegon respectively, and their claim to succeed him. The Blacks supported Rhaenyra's claim, basing it off the decree made by Viserys when he named her his heir as the Princess of Dragonstone. The Greens, in turn, supported Aegon's claim, basing it off the precedent of male-preference primogeniture widely practiced in the Seven Kingdoms.
As Viserys's health deteriorated during the final years of his reign, the Hand of the King, Otto Hightower, began secretly conspiring with his allies on the Small Council to install Aegon as king when Viserys eventually passed. To accomplish this, the Greens secured the allegiance of a number of noble houses, while also installing loyal allies amongst the Kingsguard and the City Watch of King's Landing. The Greens' powerbase was further solidified when Viserys's illness left him bedridden, allowing Ser Otto and Queen Alicent to rule and manage the realm in his stead.
The principal Blacks and Greens were briefly reconciled by the dying King Viserys during a final family supper held in 132 AC. That very night, however, Viserys deliriously began talking to Queen Alicent about the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy, believing he was talking to Rhaenyra. Confused as to what Viserys was referring to, Alicent misinterpreted the king's dying ramblings as him wishing for Aegon to succeed him. Viserys died mere moments after Alicent left the room with her misconception, undoing his own efforts to mend the rift within his family.
===The coup===
In the early morning, Viserys's attendant, Jon, hurries to immediately inform Talya about the king's passing. Talya in turn informs Alicent, who is devastated with grief. She orders Talya to keep silent about the news, but Talya secretly lights candles as a signal to her employer, Mysaria, that the king is dead. Alicent then tells Otto about Viserys's supposed change of heart regarding the succession.
An emergency meeting of the Small Council is called to determine what is to happen next. When Otto announces that Viserys is dead and that he named Aegon his heir on his deathbed, Tyland Lannister reveals that the council has planned for this for a long time, to the bafflement of Queen Alicent and Lord Lyman Beesbury, both of whom were not made privy to the plan. Lord Beesbury is both incredulous and furious at the turn of events, refusing to believe that Viserys changed his mind on his deathbed and declaring the council's effort to supplant Rhaenyra with Aegon treason, even accusing his fellow councilors of regicide for Viserys's sudden death. In an attempt to make Lyman sit down, Criston Cole accidentally kills him by smashing his skull against his council totem. Lord Commander Harrold Westerling proceeds to draw his sword against Cole and attempt to dismiss him from the Kingsguard for his actions but this ends in Harrold himself resigning when he is ordered by Otto to discretely assassinate Rhaenyra and her family on Dragonstone. At Otto's command, the newly-formed Green Council continues its business with the corpse of Lyman Beesbury still at the table. They confirm that the royal treasury is within their possession, and make plans to formally ally themselves with Houses Tully, Tyrell, and Baratheon.
In the throne room, Otto forces several lords to bend the knee to Aegon as their future king. The majority of the assembled lords do, with the exception of Lord Merryweather and Lady Fell, who refuse to kneel and renounce their oath to Rhaenyra. The two are promptly removed from the hall and taken into custody. This causes Lord Allun Caswell to kneel reluctantly, but as he attempts to flee the Red Keep to inform Rhaenyra of the Greens' plot, he is swiftly apprehended. After an interrogation by Otto and Lord Confessor, Larys Strong, Caswell is sentenced to be hanged by the King's Justice.
When it comes to his attention that Aegon is nowhere to be found in the Red Keep, Otto orders Ser Erryk Cargyll to take his brother Arryk with him to search the city for the prince. Fearing that her father will attempt to convince Aegon to put Rhaenyra to the sword, Alicent sends a search party of her own—Criston Cole and Aemond Targaryen—and orders them to bring Aegon directly to her. After a lengthy search, Arryk and Erryk are approached by one of Mysaria's agents, who informs them that her employer will give them the location of the prince, but only if she speaks to the Hand. Otto clandestinely rendezvouses with Mysaria at a market, observed from afar by Criston and Aemond. Mysaria offers the prince's location in exchange for Otto cracking down on the child fighting rings in the city, which he acquiesces to. Arryk and Erryk are then sent to the Grand Sept, where they find Aegon hidden underneath an altar. As Arryk and Erryk leave the sept with the prince in tow, they are intercepted by Criston and Aemond, who manage to take Aegon when Erryk leaves Arryk to fight Criston alone. Erryk later steals King Viserys's crown and frees Princess Rhaenys from her locked bedchamber, disgusted at the Greens' treason and believing that Aegon is unfit to rule. He attempts to take her with him to Dragonstone, but the two are separated by a crowd of smallfolk being forcibly herded to the Dragonpit to bear witness to Aegon's impending coronation.
At Aegon's coronation, Rhaenys watches with the crowd as Otto announces Viserys's death as well as the king's final wish for Aegon to succeed him. Taking advantage of the spectacle, Rhaenys slips through the crowd and ventures deeper into the Dragonpit to find her dragon Meleys. Meanwhile, Aegon is formally anointed by Septon Eustace before being crowned by Ser Criston with the Conqueror's crown. Aegon then turns to face his people gathered in the Dragonpit, where he is proclaimed by Eustace as King Aegon II. As the crowd jubilantly receives their new sovereign, Meleys suddenly bursts out of the floor, killing dozens of smallfolk. Rhaenys approaches the royal family on her dragon, prepared to end the usurpation then and there. However, after a long look at Alicent and Aegon, Rhaenys chooses to spare them, turning around and flying out of the Dragonpit for Dragonstone.
===Aftermath===
When the news of Aegon's coronation reach Dragonstone via Rhaenys, Rhaenyra is so shocked at the dual news of the loss of her father and birthright that she went into early labor, giving birth to a disfigured stillborn. Meanwhile, Daemon immediately takes it upon himself to begin preparing for the inevitable conflict, ordering for Dragonstone's defenses to be fortified and ravens to be sent out to potential allies.
During the babe's funeral, Erryk Cargyll arrives with the crown of the late King Viserys and surrenders it to Rhaenyra. She is then immediately crowned queen by Daemon, setting the stage for the Targaryen civil war.
==In the books==
In Fire & Blood, the coup is described differently. The coup started on the same day that Viserys died, and lasted a week, the late king's body being left to swell and rot until the green council's business was concluded; Alicent expressly forbade the silent sisters from treating his body, and the greens openly acknowledged his death only when Aegon II was crowned.
Lyman Beesbury's exact fate after protesting the coup is disputed: according to Grand Maester Orwyle, Lyman was arrested and confined to the black cells where he died of a chill; according to Septon Eustace, Criston cut Lyman's throat with a dagger; and according to the court fool Mushroom, Criston threw Lyman out of a window to fall to his death. Lyman is considered by Archmaester Gyldayn to be the first casualty of the Dance of the Dragons. After the council meeting, the greens arrested and beheaded suspected supporters of Rhaenyra, and sent ravens to those who were not. During the commotion, Steffon Darklyn stole King Viserys's crown, later bringing it to Rhaenyra at Dragonstone.
The hasty coronation of Aegon II was held at the Dragonpit. Criston Cole crowned Aegon as king, whilst Alicent crowned Helaena as queen. Rhaenys was not in King's Landing at this time, and there is no mention that she or anyone else interrupted the coronation on dragonback.
==References==
===Notes===
Category:132 AC
King's Landing
Category:Dance of the Dragons
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