Rhaenys Targaryen

Daughter of Prince Aemon Targaryen, the heir Jaehaerys I outlived, Rhaenys had the strongest blood claim in the realm and was twice passed over for it — first at the Great Council of 101 AC, which chose Viserys over her, and again in every quiet refusal that followed. The court named her the Queen Who Never Was, a title she wore like armour instead of grievance.

She married Corlys Velaryon and became the Lady of Driftmark, and she rode Meleys, the red dragon called the Red Queen — fast, fierce, and old enough to have outlived two generations of rivals. Among every Targaryen who ever claimed a dragon, none was more experienced in the saddle.

In 130 AC she flew Meleys alone against both Aegon II's Sunfyre and Aemond's Vhagar at Rook's Rest. The greatest dragon alive tore her out of the sky, and the queen who never was died as she had lived — with the realm watching, and the singers saying afterwards that she had shown them how a queen dies.