In 89 AC she joined her grandfather King Jaehaerys I Targaryen for part of his royal progress. Her grandmother Queen Alysanne Targaryen called her "our Queen to be". Her father was the Prince of Dragonstone, and since she was his firstborn child many considered Rhaenys to be next in line for the Iron Throne. In battle, she wore steel and copper armor that flashed in the sun. She was clever, capable, spirited, proud, fierce and fearless, with a fiery temperament. By the age of fifty-five she had a lean lined face and her hair was streaked with white. She was a great beauty with Baratheon black hair - for "the seed is strong" - but Targaryen pale violet eyes. In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Rhaenys Targaryen was the daughter of Prince Aemon Targaryen and Lady Jocelyn Baratheon, born in 74 AC on the seventh day of the seventh month. For example, "Cersei Baratheon" is hardly ever used for Cersei Lannister, though it isn't technically incorrect - while " Catelyn Stark" is also called "Catelyn Tully" more or less interchangeably. Martin himself said that whether married noblewomen drop their maiden name or not is usually up to personal preference, typically keeping their original surname if their family is more prestigious than their husband's. The books never actually call her that, but it is by no means inaccurate - George R.R.
GAME OF THRONES QUEEN OF DRAGONS SERIES
The House of the Dragon TV series seems to have approached clarifying this by simply referring to her by her married surname, "Rhaenys Velaryon". In the books, the second Rhaenys is usually distinguished by calling her "Rhaenys, daughter of Aemon", "Corlys's wife Rhaenys" etc., or the nickname "Rhaenys, the Queen Who Never Was". The third Rhaenys was Rhaegar Targaryen's first child, with Elia Martell, who was killed during the Sack of King's Landing when she was only three years old. This second Rhaenys is the granddaughter of Jaehaerys I, the first Rhaenys's grandson. The first Rhaenys was the sister-wife of Aegon the Conqueror, while the second Rhaenys - wife of Corlys Velaryon - lived over a century after her death. all of the kings and princes in England named "Henry", "Edward", or "William". Martin intentionally had names repeat like this because it's what happened in the real Middle Ages, i.e. There were actually three members of the Targaryen dynasty named "Rhaenys" over the three centuries of their rule. " A dragonrider and wife to Lord Corlys Velaryon, "The Queen Who Never Was" was passed over as heir to the throne at the Great Council because the realm favored her cousin, Viserys, simply for being male." ―HBO ] Having been passed over twice for the crown, Rhaenys and the Velaryons then became estranged from her cousin Viserys's royal court. Jaehaerys died of old age a few years later and Viserys acceded to the throne. Fearing a civil war, Jaehaerys solved the issue by holding a Great Council at Harrenhal in which all the lords of Westeros held a vote, and elected Viserys as heir to the throne.
Jaehaerys's younger son, however, himself died a few years later, also while Jaehaerys was still alive, leaving two rival male heirs to the Iron Throne: Rhaenys's own son Laenor (based on primogeniture), or Rhaenys's first cousin Viserys (son of Jaeherys's second son, and thus an unbroken male line). For this, she is called "The Queen Who Never Was". Rhaenys's father died before her grandfather King Jaehaerys did, after which Jaehaerys made the controversial decision to name his second son as his heir, Rhaenys's uncle - even though according to traditional inheritance law based on primogeniture, a lord's daughter should succeed ahead of his younger brother. Rhaenys and Corlys have two children: their daughter Laena Velaryon and son Laenor Velaryon. Rhaenys married Corlys Velaryon, admiral of the Targaryen fleets and currently the wealthiest living man in Westeros, having grown rich on trading expeditions he personally made to the far east. Rhaenys Velaryon is named after her grandfather Jaehaerys's grandmother (her great-great-grandmother): Rhaenys Targaryen, the sister-wife of Aegon the Conqueror. Rhaenys Velaryon is the granddaughter of Jaehaerys I Targaryen, and the first cousin of Viserys I Targaryen and Daemon Targaryen.