House Manderly when death takes Targaryens from them {Princess Viserra Targaryen and Prince Joffrey Velaryon} :
House Manderly when HOUSE STARK takes Targaryens from them {Queen Alysanne Targaryen x Lord Alaric Stark, Lord Cregan Stark x Prince Jacaerys Velaryon *Jacaerys and Joffrey had a Targaryen mother*, Lord/Hand Of The King Eddard 'Ned' Stark x King Robert Baratheon *had a Targaryen grandmother* Lady Lyanna Stark x King Robert Baratheon, Lady Lyanna Stark x Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, Lord Commander Jon Snow/POSSIBLE Prince Viserys Targaryen/Prince Aemon Targaryen *had a Targaryen father and a Stark mother* x Satin/Satin Flowers/Satin Of Oldtown/Satin Of The Night's Watch/POSSIBLE Prince Aegon Targaryen *POSSIBLY had the same Targaryen father as Jon/Viserys/Aemon but had a Martell mother instead of a Stark mother*, Queen Daenerys I Targaryen x Lord Commander/King In The North Jon Snow/Possible Prince Viserys Targaryen/Prince Aemon Targaryen, and Lady Arya Stark x Ser Gendry Waters/Prince Gendry Baratheon *had a Targaryen great grandmother*}........... :
Would love your thoughts on the women who could have potentially become Queen consorts during the dance and how well they would’ve done the job/what their rule might look like during a time of peace:
Helena Targaryen - Consort to Aegon II (firstborn son of King Viserys & Queen Alicent) (I know she’s actually a queen, not just hypothetical, but Blood & Cheese happened pretty quickly after her coronation so we didn’t see much from her besides being on the small council and advocating for a peaceful resolution)
Baela Targaryen - Consort to Jacaerys Targaryen (heir to Queen Rhaenyra)
Unnamed Manderly girl - Consort to Joffrey Velaryon (heir to Queen Rhaenyra)
Unnamed Baratheon daughter (although we know it wasn’t Cassandra or Maris) - Consort to Aemond Targaryen (heir to Aegon II after both his sons were killed)
Cassandra Baratheon - Consort to Aegon II (firstborn son of King Viserys & Queen Alicent)
Jaehaera Targaryen - Consort to Aegon III (heir to both Aegon II via being the last male Targaryen claim and Rhaenyra as her eldest - and to everyone’s knowledge- and only living descendant) (again, I know she’s queen but she died young before the regency was even up)
Hopefully this makes sense! I didn’t include some characters like Rhaena of Pentos since Luke was never considered heir to the Iron Throne, Alys Rivers since there was no mention whether or not Aemond meant to break his betrothal to the Baratheons, etc. If I missed someone please let me know and feel free to include them in your response
Totally makes sense anon, and I love this question because it forces people to think about what “a good queen consort” actually is in Westeros. It’s not just being pretty at feasts and birthing heirs. In peacetime, the best consorts are a blend of political instinct, public image, household management, charitable influence, and the ability to steady a king without trying to rule over him. Some women would’ve been brilliant at that. Some would’ve lit the Red Keep on fire out of boredom.
Helaena Targaryen (Aegon II)
Helaena is the definition of a gentle consort who could have been effective in peacetime, but not in the way people usually measure “power.” She’s not a political operator. She’s not a court predator. She’s soft-spoken, inward, and (in the book) her “small council presence” reads more like someone included out of duty than someone steering the ship. But in a stable realm, a queen like Helaena becomes a symbol: piety, motherhood, calm domestic authority, visible charity. The kind of queen the smallfolk cling to because she looks like safety.
If peace had held, I believe her rule would’ve looked like quiet patronage, charitable works, soothing public appearances, and a court that’s less vicious because she’s not feeding it. She would not have been a “policy queen.” She would’ve been a moral center. Blood & Cheese shatters that almost immediately, which is why we never get to see what her presence could’ve done long-term.
Baela Targaryen (Jacaerys)
Baela as queen consort would’ve been a force of nature. She’s bold, hot-blooded, dragonrider confidence, and she has that Daemon-made edge where she doesn’t shrink to make men comfortable. In peacetime, that can go two ways in my opinion:
Excellent: she becomes a public-facing, charismatic queen who rallies loyalty, sponsors martial culture, pushes reforms around training, fleet strength, and court discipline. The realm respects her because she looks like steel and doesn’t flinch.
Disastrous: she starts feuding with half the court because she refuses to play “smile and swallow it” politics, and she makes enemies without meaning to.
With Jace specifically, I think it leans more “excellent.” Jace reads more diplomatic and state-minded, and Baela would’ve been the aggressive counterbalance: the queen who scares your enemies and energizes your allies. In peace, her “rule” would look like patronage of knights, dragonkeeper culture, naval strength, and a court with less tolerated nonsense. She would not be a decorative consort. She would be a partner.
Manderly girl (Joffrey Velaryon)
This one is interesting because it’s purely political architecture.
We don’t know her personality, so I’m judging by what the marriage means. It would drag a Northern house deeper into Targaryen legitimacy, which is exactly what Rhaenyra’s faction needed in peace. As queen consort she’d likely resemble the “traditional” model: household competence, alliances, soft power through family networks, plus Northern cultural gravity that can actually stabilize a court if handled well.
Her “rule in peace” would look like quiet influence, marriage politics, rewarding loyal houses, probably a more sober court tone. Not flashy. Useful.
Unnamed Baratheon daughter (Aemond)
What kind of queen consort is she? Stormlander. Practical. Proud. Built for power-brokering. Aemond as king in peacetime is the problem, not the consort. He’s intense, controlling, and the kind of ruler who would “keep the peace” by making everyone terrified to breathe wrong. A Baratheon consort could either:
soften him socially and protect the realm from his worst impulses by being a stabilizing presence at court, or
amplify the hard-line culture and turn the crown into a militarized regime.
Given Storm’s End politics, she likely would’ve been politically competent in the “I understand loyalty and consequences” way. But her ability to shape Aemond depends on whether she has real emotional leverage over him, and he doesn’t read like a man who offers that easily.
In peace: she’s probably a strong court manager and alliance builder. In reality: she’d be spending her life trying to keep Aemond from turning every slight into a war.
Cassandra Baratheon (Aegon II)
Cassandra is the most “what could’ve been” in a grim way, because she’s explicitly lined up as Aegon’s next wife once he’s widowed and desperate for sons.
In peace, Cassandra would likely be a classic political consort. Fertile, respectable, backed by Stormlander muscle, and able to bring a fresh public narrative after the realm’s trauma. She’s not there to be loved. She’s there to restore continuity. If Aegon II had been a normal functioning king, she could’ve played the role of image repair, court unity, charitable works, and producing heirs to lock the line.
But the catch is Aegon. Cassandra could be perfectly capable and still end up trapped married to a king who is unstable, bitter, and self-destructive. Her “peace rule” depends on whether the king allows the court to actually become peaceful.
Jaehaera Targaryen (Aegon III)
Jaehaera is heartbreaking because she’s the ultimate symbol of “the war ate everyone,” and her potential gets crushed by the same machinery that used her as a political bandage. In peacetime, with time and safety and support, she might have become a quiet, dutiful consort, probably similar in function to Helaena: public piety, charity, household calm.
But even under peace, Aegon III is not an easy husband for “traditional consort influence.” He’s traumatized, withdrawn, and resistant to court life. A queen like Jaehaera would either become his shelter, or she’d disappear beside him like a ghost.
Her “rule in peace” would probably be minimal public ambition, high ceremonial value, and a court that runs around her rather than through her. And because she dies young, we’ll never know what she could’ve grown into.
(Also, yes, you were right not to include Rhaena of Pentos in the “queen consort” framing since Luke was never the Iron Throne heir in the relevant way, and Alys Rivers is a whole separate “king’s mistress / witch-queen rumor machine” category.)
“Lord Manderly, pray tell me how old I am, if you would be so good.” “You are ten-and-six today, Your Grace,” Lord Manderly replied. “A man grown. It is time for you to take the governance of the Seven Kingdoms into your own hands.” “I shall,” King Aegon said. “You are sitting in my chair.”
The coldness in his tone took every man in the room aback, Grand Maester Munkun would write years later. Confused and shaken, Torrhen Manderly prised his considerable bulk out of the chair at the head of the council table, with an uneasy glance at Sandoq the Shadow. As he held the chair for the king, he said, “Your Grace, we were speaking of the progress—”
“I will not spend a year upon a horse, sleeping in strange beds and trading empty courtesies with drunken lords, half of whom would gladly see me dead if it gained them a groat. If any man requires words with me, he will find me on the Iron Throne.”
— Aegon III Targaryen, son of Rhaenyra the Realm's Delight and Daemon Targaryen. King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm.
"A thousand years before the Conquest, a promise was made, and oaths were sworn in the Wolf's Den before the old gods and the new. When we were sore beset and friendless, hounded from our homes and in peril of our lives, the wolves took us in and nourished us and protected us against our enemies. The city is built upon the land they gave us. In return we swore that we should always be their men. Stark men!"
Some Manderly guards to accompany Lord Wyman. I had the idea for these guys a LONG time ago, but the tridents were a nightmare to track down, I ended up sculpting them from modelling putty. The soldiers are converted from Tullys, but the fish themed armour felt very in keeping with the spectacular Merman's court, and their role in the game as the Starks elite heavy armour units feels more Manderly than Tully to me. I really love their green and silver look - I remember buying a metallic green for Renly and worrying it'd go to waste, it's now getting pretty empty!
I adore House Manderly - the quote above illustrates nicely their thematic role, that sometimes the outsider to the group is the truest adherent to that groups principles. As Brienne and Dunk are the truest knights and Davos is the truest lord, the Manderly's are some of the truest northmen. Of course being a true northman occasionally requires a bit of murder and cannibalism, things get grim up north....
