Daemon claims that the problem with his marriage match is that he found the Vale of Arryn to be punishingly boring. There could be some truth to that as the region is naturally beautiful with numerous mountains surrounding the titular “vale,” but it is sparsely populated. It’s certainly no capital of culture like King’s Landing.
But…Daemon could just have well brought his new wife to King’s Landing with him. The real issue for Daemon simply appears to be that someone told him he had to marry Rhea and Daemon does not respond well to orders, even if they come from his royal grandmother. And as we see with his recent courtship of Rhaenyra, he also just may be a true, dyed-in-the-wool Targaryen who can’t imagine diluting his own precious blood in a marriage match.
What is House Royce and Why Are They Important?
Many Game of Thrones viewers are probably pretty familiar with the Great Houses of Westeros. Families like the Targaryens, the Starks, the Lannisters, the Greyjoys, and the Baratheons are all the dominant houses in their respective regions and therefore frequently factor into the story at play. One thing that House of the Dragon has excelled at thus far though is introducing its viewers to Westerosi houses on the second tier of power and influence.
House Royce is one of those houses on the Seven Kingdoms’ “B-team.” House Royce is similar in size, holdings, and strength to the two houses introduced last week, Bracken and Blackwood. They are not the wardens of their region, that distinction belongs to their overlords House Arryn, but they are still an immense presence in the realm all the same.
Like many other old houses (including the aforementioned Brackens and Blackwoods), the Royces claim to have been kings way back in the day. In the pre-historical era of Westeros known as the Age of Heroes, the Royces styled themselves the “Bronze Kings” due to their distinctive garb and donned the Runic Crown to symbolize their authority. Because if there are two things that Royces love it’s bronze stuff and runes.
Daemon dismissively refers to his wife as his “Bronze Bitch” because noble Royces are usually clad in bronze armor. Bronze is not only the dominant color on their sigil but the ancient Royces worked extensively with bronze material. To this day, members of House Royce stand out on the battlefield in their all-bronze drip. Their bronze armor and dress is usually accompanied by numerous inscrutable runes. As an ancient house of First Men peoples, House Royce claims to have the knowledge of magical rune-making. This claim is dubious at best as Royce knights and bannermen blessed with runic armors of protection die at the same rate as any other soldier.
