House of the Dragon has focused on some new members of the Hightower family in Season 3, leaving many fans to wonder exactly how all of them are related to Olivia Cooke's Alicent Hightower, seeing as how she is the most prominent member of her family in the series. HBO's House of the Dragon has centered around the major event in the world of Westeros known as the Dance of the Dragons. Throughout the war, many different people within the Hightower family have been introduced and gotten involved.
While Alicent Hightower has been the main focus of the Hightower family in House of the Dragon, it is important to remember that, because she married Viserys Targaryen, there are some people in her family who don't have the Hightower name but are still related to her.
It is also worth mentioning that House of the Dragon Season 3 has finally introduced new characters into the show who have only been mentioned in previous installments. For example, Season 3 marked the first time that the show featured characters such as Ormund Hightower and Daeron Targaryen. Even though they were recognized as part of Alicent's family, fans are now glad to have faces with the names.
Alicent Hightower Family Tree - Hightower Descendants and Ancestors In 'House Of The Dragon'
Alicent Hightower
As mentioned, Alicent Hightower is the main member of the Hightower family in House of the Dragon. She has appeared across all three seasons of the show and is one of the main catalysts responsible for the overarching storyline that has been told throughout the HBO series, as she married Viserys Targaryen and had children with him, which led to the civil war.
A lot of Alicent's family has been featured in House of the Dragon. For example, her father, Otto Hightower, played a major role in Season 1. He popped up briefly in Season 2 but was killed in Season 3. Alicent has a brother who is also a prominent character in the show, as well as a cousin, uncle, multiple children, and multiple grandchildren.
Otto Hightower
Otto Hightower was Alicent Hightower's father and the Hand of the King to Viserys I Targaryen. Otto played a major role in setting the events of the show in motion, as he instructed Alicent to more or less seduce Viserys into falling in love with her so that she would become queen following the death of Viserys's first wife.
Obviously, Otto being Alicent's father means that he was the grandfather of her children and the great-grandfather of her grandchildren. It is worth noting that Otto had a brother and nephew who have also been showcased in the show.
Hobert Hightower
Hobert Hightower was the Lord of Oldtown and the head of House Hightower during the events of House of the Dragon, at least until his death. Hobert was Otto's brother, making him Alicent's uncle.
Hobert has a son who was introduced in the show more recently. Notably, his son has become an extremely prominent character in Season 3.
Ormund Hightower
Ormund Hightower is the son of Hobert Hightower and, as of House of the Dragon Season 3, the Lord of Oldtown and head of the Hightower house. Ormund was referenced in previous seasons of House of the Dragon, but he didn't make his first on-screen appearance until Season 3. Notably, Ormund is the first cousin of Alicent Hightower and the nephew of Otto Hightower.
Although Ormund wasn't introduced formally until Season 3, the show quickly established him as the main antagonist of the third installment. He has spent most of his time in Tumbleton, with Daeron Targaryen serving as his ward.
Gwayne Hightower
Freddie Fox's Gwayne Hightower is another member of the Hightower family who has been featured more prominently as the show has progressed. Gwayne is the brother of Alicent Hightower, making him the son of Otto and the first cousin of Ormund.
Notably, Gwayne does not have a wife or children, so the Hightower name had to continue on through Ormund (Hobert's child) instead of Gwayne (Otto's child). Gwayne spent most of Season 3 with Criston Cole fighting battles for the Greens, but he decided to leave just before Butcher's Ball, a short-lived battle where all of Cole's men (and Cole himself) were killed.
Viserys I Targaryen
Viserys I Targaryen is the first character on this list who doesn't have the Hightower name. However, he is still deeply tied to Alicent and is a part of her family because he is Alicent's spouse. After the death of Aemma Arryn, Viserys was left with no wife and no son to carry on the Targaryen name. Therefore, he named his daughter Rhaenyra as his heir.
However, Viserys married Alicent Hightower and had multiple children with her, including a son. Viserys continued claiming that Rhaenyra was still his rightful heir, but a misunderstanding led to the Dance of the Dragons starting, as Alicent claimed Viserys had named her son as heir while Rhaenyra claimed he had named her as his heir.
Aegon II Targaryen
Aegon II Targaryen is the eldest child of Viserys Targaryen and Alicent Hightower. Therefore, Aegon's grandfathers would be Viserys Targaryen and Otto Hightower, meaning that Hobert Hightower would be his great uncle. Notably, he would also be related to Ormund, as that would be his second cousin. Gwayne Hightower is his uncle.
Aegon sat on the Iron Throne for quite some time until he had to be taken out of King's Landing by Larys Strong. He still claims to be the rightful king of the Seven Kingdoms and is trying to thrust himself back into power during the events of Season 3.
Aemond Targaryen
Aemond Targaryen is another child of Viserys and Alicent, meaning he is related to the other Hightower characters on this list in the same way that Aegon is. Aemond notably does not have a wife or children, and is often regarded as the most ruthless living member of the Targaryen family (though he is most likely tied with Daemon Targaryen for that title).
Helaena Targaryen
The only daughter of Viserys and Alicent is Helaena Targaryen. Therefore, like Aemond, she is related to the other Hightower family members in the same way that her two brothers are.
It is worth noting that Helaena and Aegon, while siblings, are also married. The two had a set of twins, one boy and a girl, named Jaehaerys and Jaehaera. Sadly, Jaehaerys was killed in Season 2 during the Blood and Cheese sequence, leaving Jaehaera as the only living child of Helaena and Aegon.
However, it was recently revealed that Helaena is pregnant with another child. In George R.R. Martin's source material, that child is a boy named Maelor.
Daeron Targaryen
Daeron Targaryen is the fourth and youngest child of Viserys and Alicent. Daeron did not appear in House of the Dragon until Season 3, but he was referenced in the first two seasons. Since he was a young boy, he has lived in Oldtown and has served as the ward of Hobert Hightower, and then Ormund Hightower.
As of Season 3, Daeron is at Tumbleton with Ormund, who has proclaimed Daeron as the rightful king of the Seven Kingdoms. Daeron is not married and has no children.
Jaehaerys Targaryen
Jaehaerys Targaryen was the son of Helaena and Aegon II Targaryen. As mentioned, he was tragically killed in the Season 2 premiere.
Jaehaerys' grandparents would be Alicent Hightower and Viserys Targaryen. Otto Hightower would be his great-grandfather. That would then make Hobert Hightower his great-great-uncle, Ormund his third cousin, and Gwayne his great-uncle.
Jaehaera Targaryen
Jaehaera Targaryen is the daughter of Helaena and Aegon II Targaryen, and the twin sister of Jaehaerys. Jaehaera is still alive during Season 3, and is the only living child of Aegon and Helaena. However, she has a brother on the way.
Since Jaehaera is the sister of Jaehaerys, she is related to the other Hightower characters on this list in the same way that Jaehaerys is.
