For decades, the “Game of Thrones” fandom has mused over Jon Snow’s potential true parentage. Then, the season six finale confirmed Jon Snow as the son of Lyanna Stark — Ned Stark’s sister. Shortly after, HBO released an infographic which labeled Rhaegar Targaryen as Jon’s father. However, their graphic was extremely complicated a a bit difficult to digest.
We’ve broken down the two family trees of houses Stark and Targaryen, with a clear label for Jon Snow’s parents.
Rhaegar was the son of the Mad King Aerys, and older brother to Daenerys and Viserys Targaryen. Lyanna was the only daughter of Rickard Stark, and sister to Ned, Benjen, and Brandon.
Since Jon Snow is the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna, that means Daenerys is his aunt. Plus, since Ned is his uncle while Sansa, Arya, and Bran are all Jon’s cousins.
Skye Gould/Tech InsiderRickon is still alive in the books, and almost all of the characters have been aged up by a few years for the show. The birth and death dates listed are from George R.R. Martin’s original book series. Years in Westeros are marked A.C. for “Aegon’s Conquest” or “After the Conquest.”
This graphic should give you a clear sense for how Jon fits into the two greatest families of Westeros.
Daenerys and Jon’s blood relationship means it would be rather awkward for them to head down a romantic path together. Incest is relatively commonplace in the Targaryen family tree, but we think Jon and Daenerys shared blood will prevent them from falling in love. At least, we hope it will.
Rhaegar has been mentioned several times throughout the show, but we have yet to see him appear onscreen. Perhaps fans will get a glimpse of Rhaegar in a flashback during season seven. After all, no one on the show is aware of Rhaegar’s role in Jon’s conception. Bran only technically saw Lyanna and Jon together, with no outright mention of the father.
Perhaps Bran will get the final piece of the puzzle next season, and hopefully he can find Jon to tell him about his royal ancestry.
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