Whose Crown Did Rhaenyra Wear During Her Crowning in 'House of the Dragon'?

Warning: The following post contains spoilers for the entire first season of House of the Dragon.

It looks like the Dance of Dragons is about to begin. Following a season finale in which Rhaenyra Targaryen discovered that her crown had been usurped, we saw her exercise restraint even as she was crowned queen.

Now that Rhaenyra is wearing a crown, though, many people were curious about where that crown came from. Who's crown did she wear? Keep reading to find out!

In last week's episode of House of the Dragon, we saw Aegon II be crowned king. The Hightowers decided that Aegon should be king instead of Rhaenyra, who had been named heir by her father, Viserys I, and orchestrated a coup to make it so. Part of their attempt to make Aegon look like a legitimate king involved bequeathing him with many of the signifiers of Targaryen royalty, including Aegon the Conqueror's sword and crown.

Aegon II, then, is wearing the crown that originally sat on the head of Aegon I, and Rhaenyra is wearing an entirely different crown. As we see in the season finale, Ser Erryk Cargill arrives on Dragonstone with a crown as part of his cargo. He gives this crown to Rhaenyra, who is immediately crowned queen, setting up a civil war over which leader is legitimate.

The crown that Rhaenyra wears throughout the conflict is the one that her father wore. It was originally created by King Jahaerys I Targaryen, who was king prior to Viserys's rule. The fact that Rhaenyra wears her father's crown speaks to Viserys's wish that she be the one to sit the Iron Throne following his death, and is an important reminder that Aegon is, above all else, a usurper.

Throughout the season finale of House of the Dragon, we see that Rhaenyra is carefully weighing the choices she has in front of her. While the rest of the Black Council urges her to plunge the realm into war, she considers whether doing so would be worth the price that her people would pay. The Greens present her with what seems to be a reasonable offer, if you ignore the fact that they ignored her father's wishes that she should be queen.

By the end of the episode, though, we see that all bets are off. Rhaenyra sends Jace and Luke, her two oldest children, to treat with various lords across the realm. Luke arrives in Storm's End and discovers that Aemond has beaten him there. When Aemond attempts to taunt Luke above Storm's End, his dragon Vhagar ultimately kills Luke and his dragon, Arrax.

This death is the first real blood spilt in the Dance of Dragons, and it's what will provoke Rhaenyra into launching an all-out civil war. That war will be the subject of much of the rest of the show, and it will ultimately decimate the Targaryen house almost completely, weakening them substantially and killing many of their dragons.