Daemon Targaryen, nicknamed The Rogue Prince, is a fictional character in American author George R. R. Martin's the A Song of Ice and Fire series of epic fantasy novels, appearing in the 2013 novella The Princess and the Queen, the 2014 novella The Rogue Prince and the 2018 book Fire & Blood. In the HBO television adaptation House of the Dragon, he is portrayed by English actor Matt Smith.
A central figure in the Westerosi succession war known as the Dance of the Dragons, Daemon is a prince of the ruling Targaryen dynasty. He is the younger brother of King Viserys I Targaryen, uncle and second husband of Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, and father to Baela, Rhaena, Aegon III, and Viserys II Targaryen respectively. Considered one of the most formidable warriors of his time, Daemon rides the fearsome red dragon Caraxes and wields the Valyrian steel blade Dark Sister. He served as Commander of the City Watch during Viserys' reign in King's Landing, along with brief stints in the small council as Master of Coin and Master of Laws. After leaving King's Landing, he led a successful war effort with House Velaryon in the Stepstones, styling himself King of the Stepstones and the Narrow Sea. Long after returning to court, Daemon became a prominent supporter of his niece and wife Rhaenrya's claim to the Iron Throne as the proclaimed heir of Viserys, following the installation of her half-brother (Viserys' eldest son) Aegon II to the throne as orchestrated by the "Green Council" faction after Viserys' passing.
Smith's performance as Daemon has received widespread critical acclaim, as he was nominated in supporting actor categories at the Critics' Choice Awards and Astra Awards in 2023, and for the Saturn Awards in 2024 and 2025.
In the books
In 81 AC, Daemon was born as the second son of Prince Baelon Targaryen and his sister-wife Princess Alyssa Targaryen. Shortly after his birth, Alyssa took Daemon riding on her dragon Meleys, just as she had done with his elder brother Viserys. Alyssa would perish in 84 AC after a difficult labor in delivering her third son Aegon, who passed away half a year later in infancy. As a boy, Daemon was described by Archmaester Gyldayn as "ambitious, impetuous, moody" and "charming as he was hot-tempered". At 16, he was knighted by his grandfather King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, and given the Valyrian steel sword Dark Sister for his combat prowess.
Around the same time in 97 AC, Daemon was married to Lady Rhea Royce, whom he disliked and referred to as a "bronze bitch". At an unknown point of time, Daemon claimed the lean, fierce dragon Caraxes as his mount.
During the Great Council of 101 AC, Daemon supported Viserys' claim to the Iron Throne, with the intention of being declared future heir to the throne as his younger brother. The council chose Viserys to be the next king in Westeros, and he ascended the throne in 103 AC following Jaehaerys' death. In the tourney celebrating Viserys' accession, Daemon was defeated twice by the knight Ser Criston Cole, in rounds of melee and joust. Viserys appointed Daemon as his Master of Coin briefly from 103-104 AC, then as Master of Laws for six months in 104, during which Daemon became a fierce rival to the Hand of the King, Ser Otto Hightower.
Bored of governance on the small council, Daemon was appointed by Viserys as Commander of the City Watch, a position which better suited his warrior personality. As commander, Daemon provided his watchmen with dirks, short swords and cudgels, and gave each of them a golden cloak to "wear with pride", leading to men of the City Watch being known as "gold cloaks". He regularly raided the alleys of King's Landing with his men, where he routinely delighted in brutal punishments to rapists, thieves, and pickpockets, setting a more fearsome reputation for the City Watch as crime rates dropped significantly. City watchmen were deeply loyal to Daemon, who became well-known in the city slums where he frequented brothels, gambling pits, and wine sinks. During his time as "Prince of the City" and "Lord Flea Bottom", Daemon became enamored with the Lysene dancing girl Mysaria, referred to as the "White Worm" by her enemies.
Daemon considered himself as the rightful heir to the Iron Throne after his brother, as Viserys had no living male sons to proclaim as his heir. The prospect of Daemon ascending the throne was staunchly opposed by Otto, who instead proposed that Viserys name his daughter Rhaenyra as his successor, a decision that would alter the Great Council's precedent of the king's eldest son being the true heir. Viserys did not immediately address the issue of succession, instead opting to wait until a future son was born to him and his wife, Queen Aemma Arryn. Tragically, Aemma would soon pass away giving birth to her secondborn son Baelon, who survived his mother for a day only. Shortly after the deaths of the queen and prince, Daemon was heard vocalizing drunken jests with other highborns in the Street of Silk, in which he referred to Baelon as the "heir for a day". This rumor enraged Viserys, who held a ceremony where he officially named Rhaenrya as his heir and Princess of Dragonstone, infuriating Daemon into resigning from the City Watch and flying to Dragonstone with Mysaria. Half a year later, Viserys demanded that Daemon return a dragon's egg he had presented to Mysaria after she became pregnant, and to return to his wife Rhea in the Vale, which Daemon angrily complied with under penalties of being labelled a traitor. After Mysaria lost their baby on a ship to Lys, Daemon became hardened against Viserys, referring to him with strong contempt and brooding "day and night on the succession".
In 106 AC, Daemon and Lord Corlys Velaryon of Driftmark (nicknamed the "Sea Snake") joined their forces to lead an invasion of the Stepstones, as the Rogue Prince sought to establish his own kingdom and Corlys desired to end the reign of the Triarchy over the Stepstones. Their alliance was driven by their mutual disapproval of Viserys' union with Lady Alicent Hightower as his new queen, as Viserys had shunned Corlys' daughter Laena, and Alicent's father Otto would obtain greater court power. For the next three years, Daemon fought the Triarchy on dragonback and commanded an army of various adventurers and second sons, while Corlys commanded the Velaryon fleet which engaged in naval warfare with their enemies. Despite their tension, Viserys funded Daemon and Corlys' campaign with gold. Daemon slew Craghas Drahar (known as the "Crabfeeder") with Dark Sister in 108 AC, and had controlled all but two islands in the Stepstones by 109 AC, which influenced Daemon to have Corlys crown him as "King of the Stepstones and the Narrow Sea". Soon after, a counterattack by the Triarchy and their newly acquired Dornish allies proved difficult for Daemon to maintain control over his new kingdom, which along with weariness from governance influenced his decision to return to court in 111 AC.
Daemon arrived in King's Landing during a tourney celebrating the fifth anniversary of Viserys and Alicent's marriage, during which a court rivalry between Rhaenyra's supporters (known as the "blacks") and Alicent's supporters (known as the "greens") originated. Upon arrival, Daemon presented Viserys with his crown from the Stepstones and pledged loyalty to his brother, which was welcomed by Viserys as he offered Daemon a seat on the small council. But despite having spent years away from King's Landing, Daemon's chaotic nature had not changed. He begun operating with the City Watch once again, and visited various brothels on the Street of Silk that he had frequented in his younger years. He developed an unfriendly relationship with Alicent, as her children Prince Aegon the Elder and Prince Aemond Targaryen were Viserys' eldest male sons, which pushed him further down the line of succession.
On the flip side, Daemon spent long hours in company with Princess Rhaenyra, as he told her tales of his pursuits, gifted her with jewelry and other goods, dined and hunted with her, and amused her by mocking the greens at court. The two constantly flew back and forth between King's Landing and Dragonstone, playfully racing each other. But six months following Daemon's return, the prince fell out again with Viserys, who exiled him for reasons disputed by different accounts. Although Grand Maester Runciter claimed it was just a mere quarrel between the brothers, Septon Eustace claimed that Daemon had seduced Rhaenyra and taken her maidenhood on her sixteenth name day, while Mushroom (the court fool) maintained that Daemon had prepared Rhaenyra to seduce and perform sexual practices on her champion Criston Cole, who supposedly denied her advances. After his exile, Daemon returned to his seat at the Stepstones to resume his struggle to maintain his kingdom.
Lady Rhea Royce perished following a fall from a horse in 115 AC, driving Daemon to abandon the Stepstones and fly to the Vale to claim his late wife's seat of Runestone. House Royce refused, instead passing on Runestone to Rhea's nephew. Daemon appealed this decision to the Eyrie, where Lady Jeyne Arryn dismissed his claim and insisted that his presence in the Vale was unwelcome. Rejected, Daemon flew to Driftmark to receive the courtesy of Lord Corlys, during which Lady Laena Velaryon caught his eye with her captivating beauty and charm. Daemon asked Corlys to receive her hand in marriage, but Laena was already betrothed to the son of a sealord of Braavos, who Daemon savagely mocked and slew with Dark Sister in a duel. A fortnight later, Daemon and Laena were married, a union not formally approved by Viserys. It is rumored that their union was arranged by Daemon as a means of rising in the line of succession, as he had many new enemies at court and from his pursuits.
Due to the lack of consent for their marriage from Viserys, Daemon and Laena flew across the Narrow Sea and visited various locations across Essos, such as Pentos, Norvos, Qohor, Volantis, and possibly the ruins of Valyria. In Pentos, Laena gave birth to their twin daughters Baela and Rhaena Targaryen in 116 AC. The four of them arrived in Driftmark half a year later, when Daemon requested permission from Viserys to present his daughters at court, where they would receive the king's royal blessing. Against the wishes of his small council, Viserys granted Daemon's request, believing that his brother becoming a father would change him for the better. Rhaenyra, who was married to Laena's older brother Ser Laenor Velaryon, developed a close relationship with Laena upon her and Daemon's return to court. The three of them often flew together on their dragons Syrax, Caraxes and Vhagar. In 118 AC, Rhaenyra betrothed her two eldest sons Prince Jacaerys “Jace” Velaryon and Prince Lucerys “Luke” Velaryon to Lady Baela and Lady Rhaena respectively, with the blessing of Viserys.
A year later, Rhaenyra traveled to Driftmark to be present at the birth of Daemon and Laena's new issue. Following a grueling labor, Laena gave birth to a "twisted and malformed" son who passed away within an hour, causing Laena great emotional distress and sickness. Though Daemon brought Rhaenyra's personal maester Gerardys from Dragonstone to heal her, Laena perished following three days of delirium in 120 AC, known as "The Year of the Red Spring". In the same year, Laenor was slain by his companion and rumored lover Ser Qarl Correy in Spicetown, a plot which Mushroom claimed was arranged by Daemon, who had supposedly paid Qarl coin to kill Laenor. Furthermore, Septon Eustace surmised that Daemon was the most likely suspect in setting a large fire at Harrenhal, where the Hand Lyonel Strong and his son Ser Harwin Strong (rumored to be the father of Rhaenyra's three sons) burned to death.