This article contains spoilers for Season One of HBO’s House of the Dragon and Game of ThronesThe Prince that was promised is an age-old prophecy in the land of Westeros in HBO’sHouse of the Dragonand Game of Thrones. It tells of a legendary leader that will unite the Seven Kingdoms and lead mankind to victory against an overwhelming threat.
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With many bloodlines and massive conflicts shifting power and borders within Westeros, it can be difficult to figure out who this fabled Prince is and what they are to save humanity from. Here’s what we know about the Prince who was promised.
Who Is The Promised Prince?
Across the two centuries of conflict that takes place in HBO’s House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, there has not been any individual definitively labeled as the Prince that was promised. Importantly, this is becauseGeorge R.R. Martin has yet to release the sixth book in the Song of Ice and Fire series that both shows are adapting into television. As a result, both shows have had to alter course and make changes to accommodate a lack of definitive source material.
Initially, Jon Snow was a likely candidate, given his status as a bastard child of royalty that defied tradition and broke oaths to rally Westeros’s forces against a Whitewalker incursion that threatened all human life. However, Jon Snow was not the one to defeat the Night King, the leader of the Whitewalkers. Instead, he was slain by Arya Stark, using a dagger that itself is associated with the prophecy, indicating that Prince and Princess could be interchangeable and that she was the one spoken of in the tale.
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More recently, in the prequel series House of the Dragon,King Viserysspoke openly about the prophecy andthe need for an ever-united and cooperative Westerosto better fight back against the looming threat and aid the prophesied Prince when he emerges. King Viserys' view on the prophecy reinforcestheidea that House Targaryen believes this fabled Prince is to come from their bloodline, hence Viserys' continued work towards peaceful co-existence and familial relations among the strongest houses of Westeros.
This mindset has included a close-knit relationship withHouse Velaryon, known for its naval might and well-disciplined army, and its current leaderCorlys Velaryon, including several marriages between the two houses to further strengthen their relationship.
Could The Prince Appear In House Of The Dragon?
HBO is no stranger to making retcons and changes to characters, events, and stories in George R.R. Martin’s universe when adapting the novels of A Song Of Fire And Ice into television. When they reached the end of the written works, HBO had to create new material to finish off the Game of Thrones television show and conclude events, which was met with middling reactions by fans and critics alike.
It is entirely reasonable to predict that the brewing civil war for control over the Iron Throne will be the looming danger that the fabled Prince unites the now-divided kingdom against instead of the Whitewalker incursion set to occur some 200 years later. This would mean that the prophecy had been fulfilled but not remembered by the events of Game of Thrones. It would also mean this sacred event now occurs centuries earlier than originally planned by George R.R. Martin and his yet-unreleased sixth novel entry.
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If the prophecy is to be fulfilled in House of The Dragon, there are currently a number of Princes that could fill this role.
Fans and theorists will have to wait and see if the prophecy of the Prince that was promised will be realized in Season Two of House of the Dragon. Filming for the season is set to begin in early 2023 and debut in 2024. Until then, the live-action interpretation of this long-fabled legend remains a mystery to fans, critics, and the people of Westeros themselves.
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