I was today years old when I realized House of the Dragon is inspired by this real-world power struggle

I just found out that George R.R. Martin's House of the Dragon, which was adapted into an HBO series, was inspired by a real-world power struggle for the English throne.

The fictional world of Westeros was modeled after medieval England, and the power struggle eerily mimics The Anarchy, a 12th-century English civil war.

King Viserys of House of the Dragon is inspired by English King Henry I, who had no male heir to inherit the throne. Reluctantly, the throne was passed to his daughter Matilda, who struggled to maintain it amidst outside threats.

With his fictional fantasy tale, Martin highlights how women were only viewed as a conduit to power (by marriages and giving birth to male heirs), but the world never accepted a woman in real power.

More on House of the Dragon's inspiration in our story.

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House of the Dragon is inspired by The Anarchy, a 12th-century English civil war

On closely examining HBO's House of the Dragon, I found it very similar to a medieval time period, and some sleuthing revealed that Martin was inspired by the 12th-century English civil war, The Anarchy, for his fantasy book series.

The Anarchy was a period between 1135 and 1154 when the fight for the English throne between a woman and a man was at its peak.

English King Henry I (inspiration for King Viserys) sired two dozen children out of wedlock but had only two legitimate children with Queen Matilda: William the Conqueror and Empress Matilda. Since the natural successor to the throne is a male heir, Henry I's rule was in safe hands and would naturally pass to William.

However, tragedy struck in 1120 when William was aboard The White Ship, the fastest in the entire English fleet. After William and the crew decided to drink a lot, the helmsman lost control, and their ship hit a rock, drowning everybody in the cold waters.

With the death of his male heir, Henry I's daughter Matilda was reluctantly announced as the next heir. While women as rulers were unheard of before, Henry I had little choice. His second marriage with Adeliza of Louvain gave him no children, and soon the king was too old to sire more children.

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House of the Dragon: King Viserys shared a similar plight to that of Henry I

Similarly to Medieval England, the desire to produce a male heir in Westeros is evident in the House of the Dragon opening scene itself.

Inheriting the throne from his grandfather, King Viserys desperately sought a male heir. However, his queen Aemma is only able to produce a daughter, Rhaenyra. In addition, their efforts to produce a male heir shatter when a brutal C-section results in both Aemma's and the child's (male) death.

After Viserys banishes his younger brother Daemon, Rhaenyra is finally made the queen in House of the Dragon.

While both Henry I and King Viserys made relentless efforts to gain support for their respective daughters as queens, the fictional and real worlds hardly accepted a woman as the ruler.

While Empress Matilda was threatened by Stephen of Blois (Henry I's sister's son), Rhaenyra was threatened by her father's subsequent sons (from his second marriage).

But this is where Martin's creative vision came in handy for Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon. Being a woman in Medieval England, while Matilda could not guard her throne, Martin gave her fictional counterpart more power with dragons.

Rhaenyra, the dragon rider's path to the throne, was laden with obstacles, just like Matilda but her most fearsome military asset made her dangerous in a way real women could never be.

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