how did egg become king
“Egg” became king in the Game of Thrones / A Song of Ice and Fire universe because a Great Council skipped several more obvious heirs and chose the very unlikely fourth son of a fourth son, Aegon Targaryen, who as a boy went by the nickname “Egg.”
What “Egg” Refers To
- “Egg” is the childhood nickname of Aegon V Targaryen, a Targaryen prince from George R. R. Martin’s world (the main series plus the Dunk & Egg novellas).
- As a child he disguised himself as a common boy and served as squire to the hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall, insisting people just call him Egg.
Why He Was So “Unlikely”
- Aegon was the fourth son of Prince Maekar, who himself was a younger son, so Aegon was effectively a “4th son of a 4th son,” very far down the succession line.
- Because of this, he later gained the moniker “Aegon the Unlikely,” since no one expected him to ever sit the Iron Throne.
How Egg Actually Became King
- After King Maekar I (Aegon’s father) died, there was a succession crisis among the remaining Targaryen claimants.
- A Great Council of lords was called to decide the next ruler; they bypassed other potential candidates (including Aegon’s older brother Aemon, who refused the crown to keep his vows as a maester) and ultimately chose Egg, proclaiming him King Aegon V Targaryen.
His Reign as Aegon V
- As king, Aegon V tried to push reforms to improve life for the smallfolk, which created friction with many of the great houses of Westeros.
- He also became obsessed with bringing back dragons by hatching old dragon eggs, a pursuit that contributed to the doomed Summerhall tragedy late in his reign.
Forum / Trending Context
- When people on forums ask “how did Egg become king,” they are almost always talking about this lore twist: the scruffy kid-squire “Egg” from the Dunk & Egg stories who unexpectedly ends up as King Aegon V on the Iron Throne.
- The topic stays popular whenever Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon lore is discussed, because it connects a lowborn-feeling adventure story to a major point in Targaryen royal history.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.