Daemon's wife, Rhea Royce, died from falling from a horse in 115 AC. Daemon abandoned the Stepstones and flew to the Vale of Arryn to claim Runestone, which had been Rhea's seat, but he was refused by House Royce.
Rhea dies in 115 AC, the culmination of a nearly 20-year-long unhappy relationship with Daemon. She dies of natural causes— hawking in the Vale, falling from her horse, and breaking her head.
And though we don't see it on screen, we can assume that Daemon did kill her. The stone he used to do the deed is a cheeky nod to Fire & Blood, where Rhea falls off her horse and cracks her head on a stone under slightly suspicious circumstances before passing away several days later.
Lady Rhea Royce
Rhea dies after an apparent riding accident, and Daemon is unwelcome in her home of the Vale afterward. "House of the Dragon" gives more insight into Rhea's death.
In the seventh episode of the blockbuster HBO series, Prince Daemon marries his own niece, Princess Rhaenyra. The incestuous romance had been building for some time.
While House Of The Dragon episode 4 showed Daemon was able to seduce Rhaenyra by kissing and undressing her, he couldn't fulfill the act due to impotence.
Daemon shows his genuine care and attention to Rhaenyra several times before the two marry. This doesn't take away from the many destructive and inappropriate parts of their relationship, but the books imply that Daemon does love Rhaenyra.
We know that while the two came close, they never actually did the deed. Daemon, thrown off by his lack of ability to shock Rhaenyra, left her to get drunk and pass out. While Rhaenyra did go on to sleep with Criston Cole — the big problem of the episode — Viserys (Paddy Considine) was made more cautious of Daemon.
That's right, during the Oct. 2 episode of House of the Dragon, Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) and Daemon (Matt Smith) stopped fighting their feelings for one another and finally got together. However, this was more than just an illicit liaison, as Rhaenyra and Daemon got married at the end of the episode.
Daemon desires respect from his brother and a position that would allow him to stand beside Viserys without being undermined by those around him. By marrying Rhaenyra to Daemon in Targaryen tradition, Viserys would be forced to keep his brother next to him and uplift him as the next king consort.
Joffrey Baratheon spoils Rhaenyra Targaryen's fate on Game of Thrones. As Joffrey tells us, eventually, Rhaenyra's half-brother Aegon Targaryen will feed her to his dragon Sunfyre. She dies as her son, Aegon III, watches. That's the bullet point version.
Prince Daemon had twin girls, Baela Targaryen and Rhaena Targaryen, by his second wife, Laena Velaryon. He and his third wife, Princess Rhaenyra, had two sons together, the future Aegon III and Viserys II, and a stillborn daughter, Visenya.
Daemon probably had a better relationship with Laena than he did with Rhaenyra, but in general I feel it's a safe assumption that he did love both as his spouses.
In Fire & Blood, the book House of the Dragon is based on, Daemon and Rhaenyra go on to have two boys: Aegon and Viserys. Yup, another Aegon and another Viserys.
Daemon is really angry because Rhaenyra is being passive. In his mind she wants to make peace with the greens when they possibly killed or poisoned Viserys (we see him checking for poison in ep 8 and he accuses Alicent of killing Viserys in ep 10) and they usurped the throne. Something that he very much wants.
Laena and Daemon marry soon after. Laena and Daemon were a power couple, and their marriage was celebrated by nearly all of Westeros and Essos — except for King Viserys and his court, who considered it another sign of Daemon's disrespect.
But, while time may heal all wounds, 10 years certainly wasn't enough time for Alicent's wounds to heal over being lied to by Rhaenyra. We last saw her find out the truth in "We Light the Way" that Rhaenyra lost her virginity to Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel).
When Daemon takes her to a brothel later that evening in King's Landing, he gives into temptation and although the two don't actually have sex, they get close to it before Daemon abandons her.
WARNING: HUGE HOUSE OF THE DRAGON BOOK SPOILERS BELOW
Viewers might be surprised to learn that Rhaenyra does actually follow through with her father's wishes and marries Laenor Velaryon.
The Battle Above the Gods Eye ended in the deaths of both riders and both dragons. Daemon was forty-nine when he died. Unlike Aemond's body, however, Daemon's was never found. Singers say that Daemon lived to spend the rest of his days in secret with Nettles, but most historians disagree.
Rhaenyra and Daemon simply fake his death for all of their benefit (Rhaenyra and Daemon are able to marry, while Laenor gets to live out his life with Qarl, free from the confines of Targaryen royalty). That's why, for the most part, "House of the Dragon" stays true to the events in "Fire & Blood."
While this is a revelation in and of itself, this sequence also highlights the truth of Daemon and Rhaenyra - he is an abuser and she is his victim, albeit perhaps one who does not see herself as a victim.
Yes they did actually love each other. He definitely loved Rhaenyra that much is clear and I honestly believe he loved her until the end (his death). He wasn't faithful but he did love her more than any other woman he has ever been with.
Marriage. When King Viserys I Targaryen and his small council sought a husband for Viserys's heir, Rhaenyra Targaryen, they eventually agreed on Laenor, as such a marriage would unite House Targaryen and House Velaryon once again.